Conversations in the Car
by tikvarn
Summary: Sam and Andy spend a lot of time in their squad car. Post "To Serve or Protect".
1. On Midol and Warm Hands

_Hey everyone! I came up with the idea for this series after watching the commentary for "To Serve or Protect". Ben Bass said that he liked filming scenes in the car because it was simple and there weren't a lot of people around to distract them. If you haven't watched it yet, you should._

_Anyway, I thought it would be fun to do a story about some of the conversations Sam and Andy have in their squad car. My plan is to make this a multi-chapter story, but please let me know what you think! _

_Takes place after _To Serve or Protect.

**Chapter 1: Conversations about Midol and Warm Hands**

Andy had been unusually quiet the whole day. Any quiet was unusually quiet for Andy, but she had barely spoken a word since they'd gotten into the squad car that morning. Sam didn't think she was mad at him, at least he couldn't remember anything he had done that would cause her to be mad at him, but he couldn't figure what was going on with his rookie.

"No offense, McNally," Sam said later that day, glancing over at her, "but you look terrible."

"I didn't get much sleep last night," she confessed. Before Sam could make a comment she added, "And no, it had nothing to do with Luke keeping me up, so don't even go there."

Her tone was much sharper than normal, so he decided not to push it. "Okay," he said, returning his focus to the road.

They rode in silence until Sam looked over to see Andy grimacing and bending forward. "What the hell is wrong with you?" He asked, his voice raised in alarm.

"Its nothing," she squeaked out, taking a few measured breaths before sitting up straight again.

"Its not nothing, McNally," he said, "You look like you're in pain."

"I'm fine," she said, avoiding his gaze and looking out the window.

Sam took in her paled skin, her bloodshot eyes and the dark circles beneath. He remembered how she had been on edge the day before, snapping at everything he said one minute and the next minute almost crying when she saw a dead dog on the side of the road. Today she had been withdrawn, rubbing her forehead and sitting balled up in the passengers seat. Suddenly it all came together.

"Oh," he said, smiling knowingly.

Andy's eyes shot over to meet his. "What?"

"Andy," he said patiently, looking over at her. "Is it that time of the month?"

"Why do men always assume that?" Andy asked, aggravation evident in her voice. "Just because I'm not laughing at every little thing you say does not mean that it's that _time of the month,_" she emphasized the phrase with air quotes. "It could just be that you're not that funny."

Sam raised his eyebrows, slightly taken aback by her tone. "But I _am_ funny," he protested, feigning offense. "Remember the hambulance?"

She looked over at him and he grinned at her goofily, causing her to crack a smile.

"See, I got you to smile," he said proudly. "Admit it, I'm a little funny."

She pursed her lips and rolled her eyes, but admitted, "Maybe a little."

The truth was that she felt terrible. She had been cramping all day long and had a horrible, pounding headache. When Sam had turned on the siren earlier on their way to an attempted robbery, she thought her head was going to explode. Sitting in the same position all day had been torturous and her back was beginning to spasm, begging for relief.

Another cramp seized her and she hunched forward, trying to relieve the pain.

"Andy," Sam said, shifting uncomfortably in his seat. "Do we need to get you some Advil or something? What is it girls take… Midol?"

Still hunched over she shook her head. "I've already taken some," she said, her eyes squeezed shut. Breathing in deeply, she leaned back. "Its not helping."

Sam tried to think back through the months that they had spent together. "Is it always like this?" He asked, looking at her with concern. "I've never noticed before…"

She shook her head, embarrassed. "No," she said, "Its not usually this bad." Sam watched as she rubbed her back, her face pinched in pain. "I was up all night," she admitted miserably.

"Lean forward," he told her.

"What?" She asked, not bothering to look over at him.

"Lean forward," he said again, motioning with his hand. "I'll rub your back."

"Oh, no…" she said, straightening, "You don't have to do that."

Sam sighed. "McNally, this may surprise you but I have been in relationships with women," he said. "The cramps, the headaches, the backaches… Believe it or not, I'm not totally unfamiliar with how it all works. Now," he instructed again, "lean forward."

She hesitated, but when he shot her a look she reluctantly did as he asked, leaning forward and resting her forehead against her knees, arms dangling down to the floor of the cruiser.

He felt her tense as he placed his hand on her back, sliding it beneath the vest she wore. "Andy," he said quietly, trying not to sound irritated, "would you just relax?"

"Sorry," she mumbled into her knees, willing herself to relax under his touch. His hand was warm even through the fabric of her shirt and he pressed his thumb into the sore muscles of her lower back, massaging with just enough pressure. He moved in tiny circles up one side of her backbone and down the other before spreading his fingers out to cover a larger area.

Sam heard a soft moan escape Andy's lips and he couldn't help but smile to himself. Driving with one hand on the steering wheel, he worked out the tight knots he found in her back, kneading the tension out of her muscles.

"Thank you," he heard her mumble appreciatively, making no attempt to move from his ministrations. It wasn't only the way he was massaging her back, it was the warmth of his hand that was causing her muscles to relax. "That feels really good," she told him, finally getting some relief.

Even though she couldn't see him, he nodded. "I'm glad it helps," he said sincerely. He continued to rub her back, concentrating in on certain areas when he heard her sign with approval. Eventually he felt her entire body go limp and knew she had fallen asleep.

They weren't busy that day and nothing was coming in over the radio, so he decided to let her sleep. Gently he used her shoulders to pull her back into the seat, letting her lean against the door for support. She mumbled something and he thought he had woken her up, but she curled against the door seemingly undisturbed.

Andy woke with a start when Sam shook her shoulder. "Did I fall asleep?" She asked, rubbing her eyes and looking around.

Sam laughed, motioning out the front window. "Yeah, we're back at the barn. Shift's over."

Andy looked down at her watch and then back up at Sam, "You let me sleep on shift?" She asked, surprised. "Isn't that against the rules?"

"Probably," Sam shrugged, "but nothing happened while you were sleeping. I just rode around for two hours." He grinned at her, "Did you know you talk even in your sleep?"

"What did I say?" She asked, panicked.

Sam turned in his seat look at her. "That you love me," he said seriously.

Her eyes widened and she felt her cheeks flush with embarrassment. "That's not… I don't know…" she stuttered until Sam interrupted her, laughing.

"I'm kidding McNally, you didn't say a word." He unbuckled his seatbelt and reached across to unbuckle hers. "Let's get out of here."

She narrowed her eyes at him. "Jerk."

"I'm going to chalk that up to PMS and forgive you McNally," Sam said, smirking at her over the top of the car.

She returned his smirk, shaking her head as she walked around the car to join him. "You're too kind."

"Oh, I know McNally," he said, taking her bag from her, "I know."


	2. On Glasses, Grumpiness and Gray Hair

_Author's Note: Thanks for the reviews everyone! I really appreciate you taking the time to do that. Just to clarify… this story does have a plot and will eventually be "Sam/Andy", but I think their interaction and friendship is fun to write, too. I hope you all enjoy! Please let me know what you think!_

_Disclaimer: I do not own Rookie Blue. _

**Chapter 2: On Glasses, Grumpiness and Gray Hair**

Andy studied Sam's profile as he drove, eyes focused on the road in front of him. "I've got to say," she thought out loud, "I like the glasses."

Sam rolled his eyes, irritated at the fact that he had to wear his glasses at all. "I'm only wearing them because my contact ripped this morning and I haven't gotten my new ones yet."

"Well, I think they look nice," she declared. "They make you look…" she paused, considering, "smarter."

"As opposed to how dumb I looked before?" He asked, bored.

Andy laughed, "I didn't say that you looked dumb before. You just look smarter with your glasses. Wiser." _Sexier, if that's possible,_ she thought to herself.

Sam raised an eyebrow at her. "Does that mean you'll actually listen to me now?"

"What are you talking about?" Andy questioned innocently with a smile, "You're my training officer, I always listen to you."

"You're right," he said, smirking, "I must have made up all of those times you did the exact opposite of what I told you to do."

Chastised, Andy sat back in her seat and narrowed her eyes at him. "Why are you so grumpy this morning?"

"I'm not grumpy," he mumbled, checking in the rearview mirror before changing lanes.

"Uh," Andy countered, "Yeah, you are. You're practically a dwarf."

"Does that make you Snow White?" He asked with a small smile.

"Wow," Andy said, nodding her head, "I'm impressed. You know your Disney."

"I have nieces. I like to buy their affection," Sam admitted, shrugging his shoulders. "I'm pretty sure I've bought every princess movie ever made and sat through them all."

Andy smiled. "Aw, Uncle Sammy."

"It was easier when they were little and liked baby dolls and Barbie," he told her. "Now that they're older they have much more expensive taste. I shelled out a small fortune last Christmas to buy them both iPods." The fond smile on his face betrayed the gruff tone of his voice.

"I'm sure you're their favorite uncle."

"It helps that I'm their only uncle," Sam said humbly. "At least on their mom's side." He looked over at her and cleared his throat. "I wasn't trying to be grumpy."

"It just comes naturally, I understand," Andy teased, stretching her arms above her head and settling into her seat. Even though he hadn't apologized, she added, "You're forgiven."

He smirked at her before laughing and returning his attention to the road. The day was relatively busy, not overly so but enough that time went by quickly. It was nearing the end of their shift when Sam pulled up to a stoplight.

"Sam, hold still." Andy said suddenly.

"What's wrong?" He asked, alarmed by the command. His eyes widened and he looked around, trying to figure out what had caused her outburst.

She reached across the squad car and plucked a hair from his head. "You had a gray hair," she said, holding it up for him to see.

He looked at her in disbelief. "Did you really just yank that out of my head?"

"Did you want me to just leave it there?" She asked, running her fingers through the side of his hair. "There's another one," she said, plucking it out as well.

"Geez McNally, can you not do that when I'm driving?" Sam asked, gently pushing her hands away. "Every single one of those gray hairs is because of you, by the way."

"Me?" She asked incredulously.

"Yes, you. Eight months undercover and not a single gray hair. You come along and all of a sudden they're everywhere," he accused, flipping his sunshade down to look in the mirror. "That one's got Ray Swann written all over it," he said, pointing to the hair between her fingers.

Andy rolled her eyes and threw the hair to the ground. "Is that your roundabout way of telling me you actually care about me?"

"Yep," Sam said warily. "You got me."

"Maybe you're just getting old," Andy suggested under her breath.

He looked over at her, his eyebrows raised. "What was that?"

Andy thought about not answering, about making something up, but she could tell by the look in his eye that he had heard her anyway. "Maybe you're just getting… older," she amended, hesitantly.

"Old," Sam corrected. "You said old."

"You're the one blaming your gray hairs on me!" Andy said, defending herself. After a tense moment she asked curiously, "How old _are _you?"

"I'm turning forty next year," Sam admitted. "Thanks for bringing it up."

"Sorry," Andy said, raising her hands in innocence. "I didn't realize it was a sensitive subject."

"Its not."

"Clearly," Andy conceded sarcastically. He shot her a look but remained silent. "You know, Brad Pitt is over forty and he's still hot."

"I'm sure Callaghan will find that very comforting when he turns forty," Sam said, glancing over at her. "I don't look anything like Brad Pitt."

"That's not what I was trying to say and you know it." Andy sighed, frustrated with his apparent inability to be even a little bit pleasant that day. "I just meant that there are a lot of men over forty that are still very handsome."

Sam grinned at her. "So does that mean you find me very handsome _now _or am I only going to be very handsome when I turn forty?"

"Right now I just find you very annoying," she huffed, crossing her arms and looking out the window.

Sam sighed and looked over at his rookie. She looked adorable, sitting there with her arms crossed defiantly and her lips pouted just slightly. He felt a slight twinge of guilt realizing that he'd actually upset her when she was just trying to be nice. He reached over and patted her on the knee. "Andy," he said softly, getting her attention.

He saw her hesitate but after a moment she reluctantly looked over at him. "What?" She asked icily.

"I'm sorry." He said simply, sincerely.

"Why are you in such a bad mood?"

"I don't know," he told her honestly. "Sometimes I'm just a jerk." He shrugged, smiling at her. "Its part of my charm."

"Its about as charming as a sledgehammer," she said. She couldn't stay mad at him though, especially when he was looking at her with those big brown eyes, and her lips were soon curving into a smile.

"Is it a handsome sledgehammer?" He asked, dimpled grin in place.

"Yes, Sam," Andy said, rolling her eyes. "As far as sledgehammers go it's a handsome sledgehammer."

"Thank you," Sam said, grinning at her and looking very pleased with himself when he saw her cheeks flush with color.

"Handsome," Andy shot, not letting him off that easily. "But old." His grin fell and he looked over at her with a smirk, but she winked at him and laughed, shaking her head. "You're so ridiculous."

He couldn't help but chuckle, pulling back into the station. "Alright Miss Daisy," he said, "Shift's over. I'm done being your chauffer for the day."

"You know, you could just let me drive," she suggested, unbuckling her seatbelt and opening her door.

Sam met her at the front of the car. "Maybe one day rookie, maybe one day."

"Try to wake up on the right side of the bed tomorrow, okay, Sam?" Andy advised as they walked towards the station.

He grinned as he held the station door open for her. "Just for you McNally, I'll do my best."


	3. On Hospitals and Gossip

_Author's Note: Hey guys! Thank you again for all of the reviews! I'm so glad you are enjoying the story. Please let me know what you think OR if there's anything you'd like to see Sam and Andy talk about __. _

_Disclaimer: I do not own Rookie Blue. _

Chapter 3: On Hospitals and Gossip

Sam pulled the squad car into a parking spot along the side of the road and looked over at the rookie in the car. "Okay, I want a large black coffee," he said, handing her a couple of bills, "and you get whatever you want."

"Yes sir," Gail Peck said, unbuckling her seatbelt and opening her door. Sam watched as she made her way into the diner before flipping his phone open.

"McNally, where are you?" He grumbled as soon as she answered.

"Well good morning to you, too, sir," Andy greeted sarcastically.

"Good morning," Sam placated her. "Where are you?"

"Are you checking up on me?" Her voice was light and teasing, and even though he couldn't see her he knew she was smiling at the thought.

Sam rolled his eyes, not wanting to admit that that was exactly what he was doing. "You didn't tell me you were going to be out today."

"I didn't expect to be." He heard Andy yawn before continuing, "I'm at the hospital."

Sam felt his stomach twist at her words. "Are you okay?" He asked, immediately concerned.

"Yeah, I'm okay," Andy assured him. "Sam, my dad got into a car accident last night. He's okay," she told him quickly, "but he's pretty banged up."

Sam let out a breath he didn't realize he had been holding, relieved to hear that Andy was alright. "What happened?" He asked.

"He…" she hesitated for a moment, "he wrapped his car around a telephone pole out by the beach."

Sam swallowed hard. "Had he been, uh…" he trailed off, not sure if it was his place to ask.

"Drinking?" She finished for him. "Yeah, his blood alcohol was .32 when they brought him in. He's lucky to be alive." She sighed, "One of the cops that found him was a buddy of his… I don't think they're charging him with a DUI."

"That's good," Sam supposed.

"Yeah, I guess," Andy said, not sounding convinced. After a moment she asked, "Does it make me a bad person to wish that he weren't given so many passes?"

"No," he told her honestly. "I understand. Sometimes the best thing that can happen to a person is to get caught."

"Thanks," she said quietly. "I'm sorry I didn't call. I would have but…"

He sensed her hesitation. "Callaghan there?"

"He was until about midnight, he left to get some sleep before work. Then I thought it might be too late."

Sam pinched the bridge of his nose when he heard that Callaghan had left her there, by herself. The guy just didn't get it sometimes. "Its never too late Andy," he told her, "I mean that."

She was quiet and he wished they weren't having this conversation over the phone, wished that he could be there with her. "Thank you," she finally said.

"Is there anything I can do?"

"No, its okay. He's stable and sleeping now," Andy said. "They said they're going to keep him for forty eight hours, just as a precaution."

"Okay." Sam paused for a beat, "Is there anything _you_ need?"

Sam heard her yawn again. "No. I'm going to go home in a little bit, try to get some sleep. I may try and come in after lunch."

"Don't worry about it, just get some rest," Sam told her. "You're no good to us when you're sleep deprived," he said, laughing lightly.

He smiled when he heard her laugh, thankful he was able to lighten the mood.

"So who are you paired with today?" She asked, still laughing.

Sam cleared his throat. "Peck," he said, all traces of amusement gone from his voice.

"Oh," Andy said, knowingly.

"Yeah." Sam sighed, "Hey, she and Diaz are dating, right?"

"No, where have you been?" Andy asked incredulously.

"Sorry, I don't spend my days keeping up with all the rookie gossip."

"I figured Oliver would have kept you informed," Andy said. "They broke up a couple weeks ago after the Bibby thing. She pretty much hates him now."

"I forgot Bibby was her brother's partner," Sam muttered to himself. "That explains the look she gave me when I brought him up."

"Oh no, what did you say?"

"I just asked how he was doing." Sam said defensively, "And then she practically bit my head off and told me to ask him myself."

"Why would you do that?"

Sam sighed. "I was just trying to make conversation. You usually talk my ear off, it was awkward with her just sitting there."

"Aw," Andy laughed, "Admit it. You miss me."

Sam rolled his eyes. "Yeah, that's it."

"Where is she now?"

"I sent her into the diner to get us some coffee," Sam told her, peering in through the windows to see Peck standing at the counter.

"So you could call me?"

"No," Sam said, "I just needed some coffee."

"Okay," Andy said in a tone that told him she didn't believe him. "You should let her drive."

"Who, Peck?"

"Yeah," Andy advised, "She loves to drive, it'll put her in a better mood."

"I don't let you drive," Sam reminded her, "What makes you think I'm going to let her drive?"

"Sam, I'm just telling you… if you want a pleasant day it might be worth giving up the driving privileges."

"I'll think about it."

Sam could hear someone talking to Andy in the background. He heard her respond, but couldn't make out what she was saying. "Hey Sam," she said after a moment, "I've got to go, they need me to fill out some forms."

"Okay," he said, his tone serious again, "I mean it, call me if you need anything."

"I will. Thanks Sam."

"Yep. Get some rest," he ordered gruffly.

"Yes sir."

Sam smiled and his tone softened. "See you tomorrow, Andy."

"See you tomorrow, Sam."

Sam smiled, flipping the phone closed as he saw Peck exiting the diner. He sighed, but then pushed his door open and met her at the front of the car.

"I'm so sorry sir," she said, handing him his coffee, "The line was really long."

"Don't worry about it," he said, tossing her the keys to the squad car. "You're driving today."

"Really?" She asked, a big smile spreading across her face already.

Sam nodded, opening the passenger's door. "Really. Don't tell McNally."

Gail adjusted the driver's seat and the rearview mirror and then grinned over at him. "Don't worry. It'll be our little secret, sir."

Sam's eyes widened at her tone and he had to force himself not to laugh. She'd obviously taken what he'd said the wrong way. Instead of replying he just nodded, buckled his seat belt and settled in for the day ahead.


	4. On the Difference Between Men and Women

_Author's Note: As always, you guys are awesome. Thanks for the reviews! A couple of people said they wanted a conversation about Sam's love life, which worked out perfectly for this chapter! I just wanted to give a little background as to where I'm coming from… I've read a couple of interviews with Ben Bass and he describes Sam as being "devoted to Andy, professionally and romantically." He's also said that Sam is a one-woman kind of guy and that he's hopelessly in love with Andy McNally. Add that to the fact that we see Sam break up with Monica in _Hot and Bothered_ because he has feelings for someone else, and I really think that Sam is content (right now) to bide his time waiting for Andy. Anyway… that's just a little background. I hope this doesn't disappoint! _

_Disclaimer: I do not own Rookie Blue. _

**Chapter 4: On the Difference Between Men and Women**

"I realize poker night and everything that goes along with that is a tradition, but is it absolutely necessary that you get smashed every time?" Andy asked, looking over at Sam from the driver's seat. He had thrown the keys at her after parade, grunting that she could drive as long as she was quiet.

Sam flipped down the visor and moved in his seat until the sunlight no longer hit him. "I did not get smashed," he responded, his voice raspy. "Didn't we agree you wouldn't talk?"

"Sam, you can't even look out the window without squinting," Andy said, "You are totally hung over, don't even try to deny it."

Sam sighed, rubbing his temple. "Don't act like you and Nash didn't drink at your little girls' night."

"How'd you know about girls' night?" Andy asked, surprised.

Sam shrugged, "Jerry told me."

"Yes, we did drink some wine," Andy conceded. "However," she added, raising a finger, "Here's the difference between men and women…"

"Oh this should be good," Sam said, settling back into his seat. "Please enlighten me."

"Traci and I had a couple of glasses of wine and enjoyed being a little bit tipsy," Andy explained. "We talked, we laughed, then she went home at a reasonable hour so we could both get a decent amount of sleep so that we could work today without being totally miserable."

"How very responsible of you," Sam interjected sarcastically.

"Unlike you men, we did not try to drink each other under the table, nor did we end up getting drunk off of our asses before staggering home with barely enough time to shower before arriving at work completely hung over."

Sam listened to her, his eyebrows raised, "That's the difference between men and women?"

"Yes."

"Do I need to have a talk with Callaghan?" Sam asked, "I think you're missing a couple of key parts."

Andy groaned and rolled her eyes, muttering under her breath, "Perv."

Sam heard her and smirked. "Well, you've got at least one thing wrong," he claimed, "I did not stagger home."

"Please don't tell me you drove home," Andy said, and although she had been teasing him not two seconds before he could hear the worry in her voice.

"No," he assured, "I stayed at Jerry's."

"You had a sleep over?" Andy smiled over at him, "That's so cute."

Sam rolled his eyes, "Can you shut up now?"

Andy ignored him. "Do you want to know what we talked about?"

"Not even a little bit, McNally," Sam said, closing his eyes and leaning against the passenger's door.

"We talked about you."

"Me?" He asked, uninterested, folding his arms across his chest.

"Traci told me you let Gail drive."

Sam groaned and opened his eyes, looking over at her. "She wasn't supposed to tell you that."

"Who Gail?" Andy asked, and Sam nodded. "She didn't tell me. She told Traci. They're friends now, apparently." Andy paused, "Why would you try to keep that a secret from me in the first place? I was the one that told you to let her drive."

"Let's get one thing straight," Sam said, holding up a finger. "You didn't _tell_ me to do anything McNally, you made a suggestion and after carefully considering it, I made the decision to let Peck drive."

Andy rolled her eyes. "Regardless, Gail thinks you have a thing for her now."

"Great," Sam said, sitting up, "See, that's what happens when I try to be nice to people."

Andy laughed, "You're nice to me all the time."

"That's different."

"How so?"

"It just is McNally," Sam said, irritated. "We're… _friends._"

"Ah," Andy said, as though that explained everything. "Anyway, Gail wanted Traci to find out if you were seeing someone."

"Oh," Sam said, not offering any more information.

"So…" Andy pried, "Are you?"

"Am I what?" Sam asked, purposely being difficult.

"Seeing someone?"

Sam narrowed his eyes. "Don't you think you would know if I were seeing someone?"

"How am I supposed to know?" Andy replied, waving one hand around, "We never talk about you. For all I know you're seeing that Monica girl."

Sam sat silently for a moment before telling her, "You don't have to say her name like that, you know."

Andy looked over to see him smiling patiently at her. "Like what?" She asked naively.

"Like you're jealous," he answered.

"Oh please," Andy huffed, "I am not jealous of _Monica_."

"Yeah, you are," Sam chuckled, "You just did it again. And your nostrils flared. You're jealous."

"Whatever," Andy said dismissively, returning her focus to the road. Sam raised his eyebrows at her, but didn't say anything as he leaned back against the passenger's door, closing his eyes. After a moment Andy asked. "So you're not seeing Monica?"

Sam shook his head, "Nope."

"You just run around doing favors for girls you're not seeing?"

"It was one favor." He reminded her. "Besides, I do favors for you all the time," he pointed out, head still leaning against the door, eyes still closed. "Remember that leaky sink I expertly fixed?"

"That's different," Andy maintained.

"How so?"

"We're… friends," she finished lamely.

"Ah," Sam said, mimicking her words from earlier. He yawned, but sat up, "Monica and I were never really serious. I guess you could say we were in one of those on-again off-again relationships."

"You _were_? What are you now?"

"Off," Sam told her. "We broke up a couple of months ago."

"For how long?"

Sam shrugged. "For good."

"How do you know that for sure?"

"I just do." When she raised her eyebrow at him he continued, "That's the difference between you and me, McNally. I've learned to trust that feeling I get in my gut."

"And your gut told you to break up with Monica?"

He heard the doubt in her voice, but shrugged again and replied simply, "She wasn't it for me."

"Wasn't _it_?"

"McNally, when you get to be as _old _as I am," he said, raising an eyebrow at the word _old, _making her laugh, "You realize that dating someone just to have someone to date is stupid and a waste of time and money."

"So you're just not going to date anyone anymore?"

"I didn't say that," Sam said, "I'm just not dating the wrong women anymore."

Andy sighed, considering what he was saying. "So what if the perfect woman never comes along?"

"She doesn't have to be perfect," Sam explained, looking out the window, "Just perfect for me."

"What if you never meet this woman?"

Sam was quiet for a moment. "What if I already have?"

Andy didn't miss the meaning behind his words. She swallowed hard before glancing at him quickly. "What if she's not ready?" She asked, her voice strained.

"That's the thing, Andy," Sam said quietly, finally looking over at her. He caught her gaze and held it, "I'll wait until she is."

They shared a meaningful look until Andy broke away, laughing nervously. "So should I tell Traci to let Gail down easily?"

Sam cleared his throat before grinning at her, "That'd be great, thanks."

"No problem," Andy said, returning his smile.

"Now, can we please stop talking?" Sam asked gruffly, closing his eyes and leaning back against the headrest. "My head is killing me."

"Sure Sam," Andy laughed softly, rolling her eyes, "Only because you said please."


	5. On Holiday Plans and Relationship Stuff

_Author's Note: Thanks for all the great reviews! You guys are amazing and so encouraging. I know I say it a lot, but I really am so grateful that you would take the time to let me know what you think about this story. Please keep it up!_

_Author's Note #2: Guys, watch the videos from RookieblueTV live chat (which was super nice of the RB actors/team to do, but kind of turned into a train wreck)… Ben Bass is holding a pair glasses in one of the videos and he tells Noam Jenkins that he can't read the screen. I was holding my breath waiting for him to put them on but in the end… just like the finale… I was disappointed. _

_Author's Note #3: The finale. Ugh. That's all I have to say about that. I will say that I wrote most of this beforehand and had hoped that circumstances would change, but no. _

_FYI- Okay, I have no idea what the time line of the show is. I'm from Texas so when I see people bundled up in coats and gloves I assume it's the dead middle of winter. Anyway, I'm going to guess that the Big Nickel took place in October and To Serve or Protect was inching into November. That's going to put this chapter sometime in the beginning/middle of December._

_Fishyfin- I'm working your suggestion into the next chapter, sorry... I'd already written most of this one. _

_Okay… without further ado: _

**Chapter 5: On Holiday Plans and Relationship Stuff**

Andy surveyed the freshly fallen snow and smiled. "I can't believe its almost Christmas," she said, taking a sip of her coffee.

"Yep," Sam said without much enthusiasm, "It is."

"Oh no," Andy said, looking over at him. "Don't tell me you're a Christmas Scrooge."

"I'm an all-the-time-Scrooge," He joked, laughing. "Don't you know that by now?"

She laughed with him before asking, "Do you have plans?"

"Normally I go up to Sarah's," Sam told her, slowing down to avoid an icy patch in the road, "But they're going to her husband's parents' house this year, so I'll probably just stay here. Work. Get some overtime in."

Andy frowned. "You're going to be alone for Christmas?"

"I'm a big boy, McNally, I'll survive," he said, grinning bravely.

Andy thought for a moment. "Why don't you at least have breakfast with me and my dad?" She suggested, "He'd love for you to come over. After you visited him in the hospital he asks about you all the time."

Sam shot her a look.

"What, you don't think I know about you going to see him?" She asked, eyebrow raised. "You should know better than to try and keep secrets from me Sam."

"I just don't want your dad to think we've turned our back on him." Sam shrugged. "He was a great cop, I have a lot of respect for the guy."

"Yeah, he was," Andy smiled a little sadly. After a moment, "You should come over, he'd love it."

Sam hesitated. "I don't know Andy."

"Oh, come on," she said, trying to persuade him. "It'll be fun."

"I'll think about it, okay?" It wasn't that he didn't want to go, he did, he just felt a little odd about intruding on Andy and her dad, especially if Callaghan was going to be there.

Andy nodded, slightly confused by his reluctance. "Okay. Just let me know."

"What are your plans?" Sam asked. "Just hanging out with your dad?

"Um… I don't know, actually. I'll probably spend the day with him," Andy told him, "But then Luke mentioned going to his parents' for dinner."

Sam raised an eyebrow. "Dinner with the parents. That's big."

"Yep," Andy said casually, taking another sip of coffee. "I don't know though, we'll see."

"How is Callaghan these days?" Sam asked, squinting as the sun reflected off the snow.

Andy sighed, thinking back to the previous night. "He's fine," she replied, the easy tone of her voice gone.

"Uh oh," Sam said, registering the change. "What's up?"

Andy was quiet for a moment and then looked over at him. She didn't say anything, just stared.

"What?" He asked, shifting uncomfortably under her gaze.

She hesitated another moment before asking, "We're friends, right?"

Sam nodded, "That's what you keep telling me."

"We're friends," Andy repeated, as though convincing herself. "So that means I can talk to you about stuff, right?"

"What kind of stuff?" Sam asked warily, raising an eyebrow at her.

"Relationship… stuff."

Sam groaned. "Can't you talk to Nash about relationship stuff?"

"Normally I would," Andy told him. "But I kinda need a man's perspective."

"Ah," Sam said.

"And you're a man."

"Well yes I am," he said with a grin.

"And you're my friend…" She said again.

"Would you just tell me what's going on, McNally?" Sam asked, interrupting her.

Andy sighed, trying to choose her words carefully. "Last night," she began hesitantly, already blushing, "Luke and I were… you know."

Sam had chosen to take a sip of coffee at that exact moment and at her words he spit it out, coughing in surprise. That was not what he had expected her to say.

Andy reacted quickly, grabbing some napkins out of the glove compartment and handing them to him. "Sorry," she said sheepishly.

"Its okay," Sam said, drying off the steering wheel and the front of his coat. "You just caught me off guard." He stuck the wet napkins into a cup holder before looking over at her, grinning at the mortified expression on her face. "Its fine, McNally. Continue. You and Luke were… " he trailed off, waving a hand, waiting for her to pick up the story.

"Yeah…" she said after a moment, "We were. And we were kinda right in the middle of things and he got a phone call."

Sam squeezed his eyes closed for a moment, as if praying he didn't know the answer to his next question. "Please don't tell me he answered it?"

"Yeah, he did." Andy said, nodding sadly, "And it was about a case he had been working on so he told me he had to go and he just left."

"You're kidding me?"

She shook her head, "No."

"So, let me get this straight… You guys were having sex and he takes a phone call and then leaves?" Sam asked, laying it all out there, making sure he understood what she was telling him.

"Yeah," she confirmed.

"Like, not just kissing… actually in the process of having sex?" He clarified, clearly baffled.

"God, Sam," Andy said, flushing with embarrassment, "Yes." After an awkward pause she added, "Its not the first time it's happened."

Sam couldn't help but roll his eyes. Callaghan was an even bigger idiot than he had originally thought. "Alright so… what do you want to know?"

"That's strange, right? I'm not overreacting, am I?"

For a second Andy thought Sam's eyes were going to bug out of his head. "No, Andy. That's strange."

Andy was quiet for a moment before asking. "Do you remember that night?"

"What night?"

"_That _night," she said, rolling her eyes.

"McNally, as you've pointed out, I'm old," Sam said, grinning at her. "You're going to have to refresh my memory."

"Oh for the love of God, Sam," Andy said, exasperated, "Can we please move passed the old thing? It's like the damn fishing cabin all over again. This is embarrassing enough as it is."

"Fine," he conceded. "I'm sorry. Yes, I remember. What about it?"

"Okay, I know that we really didn't get that far, but…" she hesitated.

"But what?"

"I'm a good kisser, right?" She asked quickly, "I mean, I didn't repel you, did I?"

Sam whipped his head around to look at her, trying to figure out if she was joking. When he realized she was being serious, he burst into laughter at the absurdity of the thought.

"What's so funny?" Andy asked, her eyes wide. When Sam just kept laughing and didn't respond she crossed her arms over her chest and huffed, "I knew I shouldn't have even bothered asking."

Sam took a couple of deep breaths to calm down. "Andy, I'm sorry," he said, pulling up to a stoplight. "I'm not laughing at you."

She raised her eyebrows at him and gave a quick, irritated shake of her head. "It sure seems that way."

"I'm not, I promise. McNally," he said sincerely, "if you think you repelled me in any way we must not be remembering the same night."

Andy sighed, "Well obviously I'm doing something wrong if he just stops in the middle and leaves."

"Andy, no, don't do that." Sam said seriously, "Don't blame yourself."

She was quiet and fidgeting with her hands, visibly upset. Sam sighed and reached over, stilling her hands with one of his own. "Andy, look at me," he said.

When her brown eyes met his he momentarily forgot what he was going to say. A car behind them blared its horn and Sam looked up to see that the light had turned green. "That guy's got balls," he muttered, shifting his gaze away from Andy and pulling through the intersection. "Who does he think he is, honking at the police?"

The car that honked pulled in front of them and Sam got a small grin on his face.

"Sam, what are you going to do?" Andy asked, narrowing her eyes in suspicion.

"Nothing," Sam said innocently, reaching over to flip the lights and the siren on.

"He didn't do anything against the law," Andy reminded him.

"I know." Sam waited until the car pulled over onto the shoulder before zooming past it, waving.

Andy rolled her eyes, but laughed "Do you feel better now?" she asked, turning the siren off.

"A little." He cleared his throat and glanced over at Andy. "Andy," he said, "You trust me, right?"

She nodded.

"Okay," he said, grinning. "As your training officer, if you were repulsive, I would tell you."

"Thanks," she laughed, "I think."

"No, I'm serious Andy," Sam said, shrugging, "You're beautiful and from what I recall, a damn fine kisser. If Callaghan walks away from that, he's the moron."

"Thank you, Sam," Andy said quietly, sincerely. "What should I do?"

_Break up with him, _Sam thought. "Talk to him. Tell him it upset you, he probably doesn't even realize it."

"He'll say its because the job is important."

"Well," Sam said, shrugging, "You're important, too."

"Okay." She smiled over at him, "Thanks."

"No problem." They rode in silence for a moment, both lost in their own thoughts, until Sam asked, "So he really just… left?"


	6. On Lion Hearts and Wilderness Guides

_Author's Note: Thanks for the reviews everyone! For those of you asking about the Rookiebluetv videos, go to the Rookiebluetv twitter page and there is a link to the videos on there. _

_Disclaimer: I do not own Rookie Blue. _

**On Lion Hearts and Wilderness Guides**

"I got you something," Sam said as he reached over to open the glove compartment, pulling out a small box.

"You got me a Christmas present?" Andy asked, a little surprised and genuinely touched. "Why didn't you give it to me yesterday?"

Andy's father had ended up calling and inviting him to breakfast. "Sam, my daughter tells me you aren't going to your family's house for Christmas," Tommy said. "A man shouldn't be alone on Christmas morning, son. Be here at seven, we'll eat before your shift." Sam had briefly considered trying to decline, but he couldn't say no to Tommy.

He'd arrived at seven sharp to find Andy in snowflake flannel pajamas, drinking coffee at the small kitchen table while Tommy hovered over the stove making pancakes. Andy yawned and stood up to fix his coffee, griping at him about how early she'd had to wake up. When she'd turned back around with a smile, he knew she was kidding.

"Don't let Andy make you feel bad, Sam," Tommy called, "She's always up early on Christmas morning."

"Dad!" Andy chided, but Tommy just laughed, turning back to the pancakes.

"Nice PJs," Sam had quietly teased, winking at her. When he saw her cheeks flush with color he'd grinned.

She smirked and handed him his coffee, sitting down next to him at the table. She pulled her foot up to the chair and rested her chin on her knee, asking if he'd talked his sister yet. He told her that he had and they settled into a comfortable, quiet conversation.

Callaghan had arrived a couple of minutes later and Sam stood up to talk to Tommy, letting him have his seat. When the pancakes were ready Sam ate quickly, not wanting to stay around any longer than he had to, especially with the looks Callaghan kept shooting him.

Sam shrugged, his eyes on a couple of kids walking around Hyde Park. They were parked outside of the entrance, monitoring the holiday activity. "I didn't have anything for your dad or for Callaghan, thought it might be awkward."

"You didn't have to get me anything," Andy said.

He just rolled his eyes as he handed the present to her. "It's not much, don't get too excited."

"Have a thing for ice-skating snowmen?" She teased, eyeing the wrapping paper.

"Some kid was going door to door selling it for his school," Sam explained. "It was either that or creepy, smiling Christmas trees."

"How'd this big bow get on here?" She asked innocently, tracing it with her fingers. "And all this ribbon?"

She saw his lips twitch as he replied, "I put it there."

She couldn't help but laugh at the thought of Sam actually purchasing ribbons and bows and wrapping the little box himself, at the thought of his normally capable hands fumbling with scissors and tape and paper and bows.

"McNally," Sam warned gruffly, "If you keep making fun of me, I'm going to take it back."

"No, don't do that," Andy said, turning the small box over in her hands. "I'm just teasing, it's sweet."

Sam watched as she inspected the present, shaking it gently by her ear and listening to the contents rattle inside. "You know," he suggested, "you could just open it to find out what's inside."

Andy shot him a look. "Could you not spoil this for me, please?"

He raised his eyebrows at her, but didn't say another word. Gently she turned the box over and pulled the tape off of the bottom. Careful not to tear the paper, she unwrapped the present and took the top off of the box.

"Oh, Sam," she said, lifting the simple silver chain out of the box and holding it in out front of her.

"I saw it when I was getting my nieces' presents," he said, shrugging. "I thought it was appropriate."

A small silver charm dangled from the necklace. "It's a lion," she said, her voice cracking.

"A lioness, actually," he corrected gently.

"Because I have a lion's heart." She said, remembering the words he'd spoken months before.

He nodded, one side of his mouth crooking into a smile. "Yeah, you do." She looked over at him and he was surprised to see that her eyes were watery. "Oh, geez McNally," he said, laughing lightly, "I didn't mean to make you cry."

Andy shook her head, waving a hand in front of her face. "I know, I'm sorry… I don't know why I am," she said, embarrassed.

He smiled and reached over to rub his thumb across her cheek, wiping away a tear that had fallen. "I take it you like it?"

"It's perfect," she said, smiling at him. "Thank you."

"You're welcome." He caught her gaze. "You don't have to wear it, I know Callaghan might…"

"Yeah," she nodded, interrupting him. "He might." Unclasping the chain she wrapped it around her neck and turned to face away from him, pulling her ponytail up. "Can you?…" she said, motioning to the clasp.

Sam swallowed hard, leaning forward to take the chain from her hands. He gave into temptation and let his fingers trace over the soft skin of her neck, knowing full well that he was taking advantage of the situation. When he heard her sharp intake of air, he quickly clasped the necklace closed and let it go, sitting back in his seat.

Andy dropped her ponytail and turned back to face him, smiling. He knew she had felt him touch her and was thankful she didn't seem upset. "This makes my gift look totally lame," she said, laughing, fingering the charm that hung around her neck.

It was Sam's turn to be surprised. "You got me something?"

"Yep," she said, pulling a present out of the bag that was at her feet. "You left before I could give it to you."

It was the second time she'd used that exact phrase and he couldn't let it go again without a comment. "McNally," he grinned, "If you want to give it to me, all you have to do is ask."

She furrowed her brow, confused for a moment. When she finally understood what he said, she wrinkled her nose and slapped his arm. "You know that's not what I meant."

He just laughed, taking the present from her hands. Really it was two presents, both rectangular, wrapped together with a ribbon. Sam untied the ribbon and held up the first present, "What could this be?" He mused, squeezing it gently.

"Open it and find out."

Sam did as she asked, tearing through the paper to reveal a 10-pack of Hanes' t-shirts.

"There's black, navy and gray," Andy said, grinning. "There's even a bonus white long-sleeved shirt, so you should be set."

"Thanks," Sam laughed, "These'll last me all year."

"Open the next one, " she said eagerly.

Sam ripped the paper off of the second package, smirking as he saw the two books inside. "Well, you did say that I needed a new joke book."

"Yeah, I think the hambulance needs to be retired." Andy said.

"No way," Sam scoffed, laughing. "The hambulance is a classic."

"Of course it is," She agreed sarcastically. " The other one is just in case you ever get stuck in the woods without me."

Sam grinned, holding up the book she was referring to. "_Wilderness for Dummies? _What are you trying to say?"

"I thought you should start off with the basics," she said, smiling.

Sam laughed, looking down at the gifts in his laps before meeting her gaze again. "Thank you, Andy, really."

She nodded, smiling sincerely. "Merry Christmas, Sam,"

"Merry Christmas, McNally."


	7. On Breaking Up and Making Up

_Author's Note: Hey guys! As always, y'all are awesome. Thank you so much for the reviews, I was really worried about how this story would work out and I'm so glad you all seem to like it. Please continue to let me know what you think and if you have anything you'd like to see Sam and Andy talk about. I'll do my best to work it in! _

_Don't forget to check out the FicTacToe challenge! If you haven't read about it, check out my profile for details. _

_Thanks for reading, guys! I hope you enjoy!_

_Disclaimer: I do not own Rookie Blue. _

**Chapter 7: On Breaking Up and Making Up**

Sam was fairly certain his rookie was giving him the silent treatment.

She had yet to say a word to him out of her own volition since they'd gotten into the car that morning. On the rare occasion that he asked her a question that she wasn't able to answer with a nod or a shrug she spoke in as few monosyllabic words as possible.

Currently she was sitting in the passenger's seat, leaning against the door to get as far away from him as possible, working on a crossword puzzle. Sam cleared his throat, hoping to get her attention, but she continued in her mission to completely ignore him.

Sighing, he grabbed a chip out of the bag he had placed between them. They were her favorite kind, which he knew, but she had yet to take one. Popping the chip into his mouth, he crunched it obnoxiously loudly before reaching over for his soda, which he slurped down, making as much noise as possible. With the straw still in his mouth, he cut his eyes over to his rookie, hoping for some reaction. Getting none, he repeated the process.

He was on his fourth chip when she finally looked over at him. "Would you cut that out?" She asked, irritation obvious in her voice.

"She speaks!" Sam declared, grinning over at her.

Her only response was to roll her eyes and go back to her crossword puzzle.

"Fine, McNally," he said, leaning back in his seat with one hand on the steering wheel. "If you're not going to talk, I will."

He looked over to see her purse her lips, but she didn't say anything.

"I bet you didn't know I grew up in this neighborhood," he said, pointing out the window to a large brick building. "I lived in that building right there. Apartment 5B."

Andy kept her head down but he saw how she quickly cut her eyes over to look at the building.

He pointed out a small hole-in-the wall-restaurant. "That's where my mom used to work. We used to eat there at least three times a week. Delicious burgers, I've taken Shaw there."

Again, she didn't say anything but her eyes shifted to where he was pointing.

"And right there is where I went to high school." Sam said, grinning. "The good old days." He took a right turn to go down beside the school, pointing to the windows of some of the classrooms he sat in. "That was Mrs. Whitter's English class," he told her with a grin. "It was first period, my senior year. I slept through the entire class but was able to charm my way into an A."

Andy raised her eyebrows, but remained silent.

"And that's where Mrs. Fish's calculus class was," he said, pointing again. "Bet you didn't think I took calculus, did you McNally?"

No reaction from Andy but he continued, undaunted.

"And everything useful I learned in high school, I learned right there," he said, pointing to an athletic field enclosed in a chain link fence. "Or maybe," he grinned, "Under those bleachers."

Still working on her crossword puzzle, Andy snorted, "Like how to throw a punch?"

So _that_ was what the whole silent treatment act was about. "Yeah, and that any jackass who calls his girlfriend a lying bitch in front of her colleagues deserves to punched," he shot back.

"Ex-girlfriend," Andy corrected.

"Can I ask you something?" Sam asked. She could hear the anger entering his voice and knew he was trying to control it.

"What?" She challenged, still not looking at him.

"Callaghan breaks up with you but for some reason you're pissed at me?"

"Yep," she said, her lips popping on the 'p'.

He raised his eyebrows. "Care to fill me in on why, exactly?"

"Because you made the situation worse than it had to be," she accused, her eyes narrowed.

"Oh really?" Sam protested indignantly, "Callaghan drinks himself into a stupor at the bar and then tries to start something with me because I just happened to be sitting next to you, and I'm the one that made the situation worse?"

"He was drinking and he was upset," Andy said, defending Luke. "He wouldn't have normally said those things. And the fact that he saw you next to me…" she sighed, shaking her head. "It was just one of those wrong time, wrong place things."

"Well he did say them Andy and if you think I was just going to sit there and let him, you obviously don't know me very well," Sam said, keyed up. "I'm fine by the way, thanks for asking."

"Oh please," Andy said, "I wasn't exactly worried about him hurting you." In spite of himself, Sam grinned. "Not like that, he was drunk and you were still pretty sober."

Sam smirked. "What the hell happened, anyway?"

"He found the necklace yesterday morning," Andy sighed. "The one you gave me."

"So?"

"So, he started asking me a bunch of questions about it, about you," she said, looking down at her hands in her lap.

"What about me?" Sam huffed. "Friends give each other Christmas presents all the time, Andy."

She rolled her eyes and fixed him with a look. "You know it's not that simple."

He conceded with a shrug of his shoulders. "Fine. What else happened?"

"It all just kind of came to a head," Andy explained. "He was mad about the necklace and he was pissed you were there Christmas morning…"

Sam interrupted her, "Your dad invited me."

"Yeah, that pissed him off even more." Andy said. "Look at it from his perspective… he's been trying to get in good with my dad for weeks and you're the one he calls and invites for breakfast?"

"Okay," Sam granted, seeing her point. "But that doesn't explain him breaking up with you."

Andy sighed. "I told him what really happened."

Sam raised his eyebrows. "Why would you do that?"

"Because I was tired, okay Sam?" Andy exploded, "I was tired of lying to him about it… about you. You've said it yourself, Luke's a good guy. He deserved to know the truth."

"But you told him we were just friends, right?"

Andy shook her head, "Yeah, but he didn't believe me. I guess when he saw us sitting together at the Penny last night it just set him off… hence the lying bitch part."

Sam was silent for a moment, trying to let the intensity that had built up in the car diffuse. "Andy," he began cautiously, "I get why Callaghan was upset. And I know he was drunk, but that doesn't give him the right to talk you like that."

"I know," Andy said, rubbing her temple. "But you didn't have to punch…"

Sam held up a hand, stopping her, "If anyone else had been sitting there with you, they would have done the same thing. You don't think Diaz wouldn't have decked him?"

"He probably would have," Andy admitted, remembering when Chris punched Detective Bibby.

"Look, Andy," Sam said, "I'm sorry if it made it worse for you. And if you really want me to…" he cleared his throat, "I'll apologize to Callaghan."

Andy narrowed her eyes at him in disbelief. "Really?"

Sam nodded. "I won't enjoy it," he confessed with a slight grin, "but if you want me to I will."

Andy shook her head, laughing softly. "He did kind of deserve it," she acknowledged. "You don't have to apologize."

"Thank God," Sam said, relieved. He leaned back in his seat before looking over at her. "Are we okay?"

"Yeah," Andy said, nodding. "I'm sorry for getting so mad, it was just embarrassing."

"For him, Andy," Sam told her. "Not for you."

Andy gave him a slight smile. "I know you were just trying to look out for me."

"I got your back McNally," Sam said, winking at her. "Now can you please put that stupid crossword puzzle away and talk to me?"

"I didn't even get any of the words," she laughed, holding it up to show him that it was blank. "I was so mad at you that I couldn't concentrate."

He grinned, "I don't think a girl has given me the silent treatment since high school."

"Would those be the girls that you took under the bleachers?" She asked with a raised eyebrow.

"So you _were_ paying attention. No," Sam said with a cocky grin, "Those girls were always very happy with me."

Andy slapped him on the shoulder, laughing. "Oh, I'm sure."

Sam laughed along with her before holding out the bag of chips. "Want one?" He asked.

"Thanks, I'm starving." She said, reaching in to take a chip. "These are my favorite."

"I know," he said simply.

Andy looked over at him and held his gaze for a moment. "Thank you, Sam," she said. "Really."

He didn't say anything, just nodded. Andy saw something she had never noticed before in the way that he was looking at her, but before she could figure out what it meant he blinked and looked away, focusing back on the road in front of them.

"So," Andy said, "Tell me more about what Sam Swarek was like in high school."

"Kind of like I am now," Sam said, laughing, "Except less handsome and even more of a punk."

Andy laughed, taking the bag of chips out of his hand and settling back into her seat. "I can't even imagine that," she teased.

"I know," Sam said, "I was lying." He grinned at her. "I've always been this handsome."


	8. On Dating and Double Talk

_Author's Note: I'm really overwhelmed at how many of you take the time to review this story. I can't thank you enough! Please continue, it is so encouraging! _

_Disclaimer: I do not own Rookie Blue. _

**Chapter 8: On Dating and Double Talk**

"God, people are idiots," Sam groaned, climbing back into the car. "That guy wanted me to give him a warning instead of a speeding ticket because he was going 'downhill'. Why do people think the speed limit increases when you go downhill?"

Andy had long ago learned not to get involved in her partner's rants on the idiocy of people, so she simply nodded her head and agreed with him. "I'm sorry. Look on the bright side…"

"What's that?" Sam grumped, pulling his seatbelt across his chest.

"You probably just ruined his day and made his insurance go up," she said, grinning at him.

Sam just laughed and buckled his seatbelt. "Small price to pay for a lesson in common sense."

"I don't think he'll agree when he sees how much he has to pay," Andy said. Sam shot her a look. "But you're absolutely right," she said, placating him.

"I know," Sam nodded and pulled back out onto the street. "So," He asked casually, "what did you do last night?"

Andy looked over at him, slightly surprised by the question, and took in the way he was leaning back in his seat while driving with one hand on the steering wheel. Trying to look relaxed. She fought to suppress the smile that threatened to take over her lips. "Oh you know," she said nonchalantly, looking down at the paper in her hands. "Not too much."

"Not too much," Sam repeated, cutting his eyes over to look at her. "Like what?"

"I went to dinner with this guy I know," Andy said, peeking up to see his reaction.

"Oh," Sam said. "That sounds nice."

Andy nodded, "Yeah, it was." With a slight grin she continued, "I was really starting to doubt whether or not he was ever going to ask me out. I've been dropping hints all week… made me wonder if he was playing for the other team, ya know?"

Sam's eyes widened at the suggestion. "Maybe," he protested, sitting up a little straighter in his seat, "he knew you had just gotten out of a relationship and didn't want to be the rebound guy."

"Maybe." Andy nodded, considering the idea. "Or maybe it just took him a while to work up the nerve."

"Maybe he was worried you would reject him," Sam offered back, raising his eyebrows. "Again."

"Nah," Andy said, shaking her head, "I don't think he's the type to have a fragile ego."

Sam smirked at her as she tossed his own words back at him. "So, what did you do?"

"He took me to this cozy little restaurant," Andy said, smiling at the memory. "Delicious burgers. We talked for a while and then he walked me home."

"Did he, uh…" Sam grinned, "Get a goodnight kiss?"

Andy couldn't help but laugh, "Yeah," she said, nodding. "It was so cute, I think he was nervous."

Sam coughed and rolled his eyes, "He was _not_ nervous."

"Uh yeah," Andy said, smiling over at him, "I think he was. His hands were shaking."

Andy could tell that Sam was trying hard not to smile, but the twinkle in his eye gave away his amusement. "Maybe you just have that effect on men, McNally."

Andy shrugged, "I know," she said smoothly with faked arrogance, "I just can't help it."

Sam chuckled before asking, "Did you have fun?"

"Yeah, I really did," Andy answered honestly.

"Do you think you would want to try it again?"

"The date or the goodnight kiss?"

Sam's lips twitched with a smile. "Maybe both."

"I think I'd probably be up for that," Andy said, meeting his gaze.

"So if he asked you out again for, say, tonight, what would you say?"

"I'd probably say that I was a little insulted it was such short notice…" Andy said, feigning offense. "What does he think? That I'm a loser with no plans, just sitting around waiting for him to take me out?"

"I don't think he thinks that," Sam assured, grinning, "Maybe he just really wants to see you again."

"In that case…" Andy said, looking out the window. "I'd probably tell him that I get off shift at seven, but my partner can be a bit of a hardass sometimes and usually makes me stay late to do paperwork."

"Well what if he promised to talk to your partner and get it taken care of?"

"I don't know, my partner can be pretty protective sometimes." Andy said, shrugging, "He punched out the last guy I dated."

"He probably deserved it," Sam said quickly.

"Or my partner's just a hothead," Andy contended.

"I doubt that's the case," Sam argued, "He probably just doesn't want to see you get hurt."

"That's probably it," Andy appeased, nodding. "Do you think he'd be okay with this new guy?"

"Oh, I don't know," Sam said, "He probably needs to know more about the guy. What does he do?"

Andy paused for a moment, knowing what Sam was trying to do, but decided to play along. "He's a cop."

"I thought you didn't date cops," Sam said, switching his left blinker on before looking in the rearview mirror and changing lanes.

"I thought I'd make an exception," Andy told him, "He's a pretty special guy."

"Ah," Sam said, a small smile playing on his lips. "What's he like?"

Fine, if he really wanted to play that game. "When I first met him I thought he was the biggest jerk ever," Andy replied honestly, "He totally went off on me in front of my boss for something that wasn't really my fault."

"Hmm." Sam said, his lips tight.

"And then later that same day he stripped in front of me but refused to let me buy him a drink."

Sam raised his eyebrows, looking over at her. "I don't really think that's what happened."

Andy met his gaze but just shrugged, continuing, "But I think I slowly started to win him over."

"You did, huh?"

"Yeah. He wants everyone to think he's this rule-breaking bad boy, but I think it's just an act."

"An act?"

Andy nodded. "He's been there for me through some pretty rough times and he's a good friend," she admitted. "I actually think there's a really great guy underneath all that dark monochrome clothing."

"So you want to see what's under his clothing?"

Andy smirked, "Not what I meant."

"But you do," Sam grinned, "Don't you?"

Andy paused, considering her answer. "I think that should probably stay between me and him," she said, shooting him an annoyed look. "If he ever wants it to happen."

Sam couldn't help but laugh at her expression. "Okay, " he conceded, "I guess that's fair."

"So do you think my partner would approve?"

"He seems like a pretty respectable guy," Sam said as though he was debating with himself, "He'd probably treat you right, take care of you."

Andy nodded. "Yeah, probably," she agreed.

"Well, I can't really speak for the guy," Sam said, "but I think your partner would approve."

"Great," Andy said, exhaling in mock relief, "Now he just has to talk to my partner to make sure I don't have to stay late tonight."

Sam was silent for a moment, thinking. "Alright," he said, sounding slightly irritated, "I'm getting lost with all this double talk. Do you want to get dinner with me tonight or not?"

Andy laughed. "Yeah, I'd like that."

"Good," Sam said, reaching for her hand and squeezing it slightly. They rode in companionable silence until Sam looked over at her, grinning. "Word on the street is that you want to see me naked."

Andy groaned and rolled her eyes. "I did NOT say that."


	9. On That Thing You Do

_Author's Note: You guys sure know how to make a girl feel special :). Thank you so much for all of the reviews! Hope you like this next chapter!_

_Disclaimer: I do not own Rookie Blues. _

**Chapter 9: On That Thing You Do **

"Can I drive today?" Andy asked one morning as she and Sam walked through the parking lot towards their car.

Sam squinted into the sun before looking over at her and answering, "Nope."

"Please?" She tried again, batting her eyelashes at him.

Sam shook his head. "I don't think so."

Andy looked around to make sure they were the only ones in the parking lot and then she moved to stand in front of him, blocking his path. He came to an abrupt stop, arching an eyebrow in question. "I'll do that thing again," Andy said, her voice smooth.

Sam swallowed hard. "That thing you did last night?" He asked in a low voice, his eyes travelling down her body. "With the…" he trailed off, waving a hand in the air.

She nodded, taking a step closer to him. "Yeah," she said, her chest just grazing his, "You seemed to like it."

"Oh," Sam said, rolling his tongue over the front of his teeth before grinning, "I did." He paused for a moment and Andy gave him what she hoped was a dazzling smile. He smiled back at her and reached into his pocket for the keys. Just as he was about to hand them over to her he narrowed his eyes and smirked, clasping his hand firmly around the keys. "Nice try." Pocketing the keys, he moved quickly around her, heading for their squad car.

Andy groaned and rolled her eyes before hurrying to catch up.

"I will not be bribed, McNally," Sam said with a grin as he opened her door for her. His grin turned into laughter when she scowled at him while sliding into the passenger's seat. Before shutting the door he poked his head inside the car. "Although I did enjoy it very much," he told her, his lips skimming her ear.

"See if it ever happens again," Andy snapped, reaching out to slam the door shut herself, causing Sam to have to jump out of the way. He just laughed at the empty threat as he rounded the front of the car and climbed into the driver's seat.

Sam glanced over at her and chuckled at the expression on her face and the way she folded her arms across her chest, obviously put out that her tactic hadn't worked. "If you stop pouting I'll buy you coffee," He promised, buckling his seatbelt.

"You'll buy me coffee anyway," she claimed, trying to sound annoyed, but Sam could see the way her lips curved into a slight smile.

"Maybe." He winked at her, "Just like you'll do that thing again anyway."

Andy held his gaze for a moment before laughing and uncrossing her arms. "Maybe. If you get lucky."

"Oh, I'll get lucky alright," Sam grinned, pulling out of the station.

Andy just smiled and shook her head before asking, "Where're we headed?"

"First to get coffee, then to 8th and West," Sam told her, "Best wants us to check out that restaurant that caught on fire last night, interview some of the witnesses."

"Are you thinking it was arson?" Andy asked, clicking through the computer records.

Sam shrugged, "Maybe, but its an older restaurant, could easily be electrical or faulty heating system."

"Sounds good," Andy said, looking over at him. "So…" she started, "I had to tell Traci about us."

"You _had _to?" Sam asked, "Was she holding a gun to your head or something?"

Andy rolled her eyes at the exaggeration, "No, she just cornered me this morning in the locker room and asked me point blank if we were together. I couldn't lie."

"I don't care that you told Nash," Sam informed her.

"You don't?"

"Are you kidding me?" Sam asked, "She and Jerry were sleeping together when you guys were still in the academy. If anyone knows how to keep a relationship under wraps its those two."

"You knew about that?" Andy asked, surprised. "I thought you were undercover?"

Sam shook his head. "I didn't know until after you burned me."

Andy rolled her eyes at the dig. "You know, you really should have run faster."

"You tripped me," Sam argued.

"Oh please," Andy countered, "You tripped over your own feet, twinkle toes."

Sam shot her a look. "Please don't ever call me that again."

"Fine," Andy agreed, laughing at his dismayed expression. "You're really don't care that I told Traci?"

"I'm not your training officer anymore," Sam told her. "Its not against the rules. I mean, I don't think we should go around announcing it to people, but it's not that big of a deal if they find out."

"Yeah, I guess, "Andy said. "Its just that after what Boyd said I think it'd be better for both of us…"

Sam interrupted her. "What did Boyd say?"

_Stupid, stupid, stupid, _Andy thought to herself."Nothing."

"Andy," Sam said impatiently, looking over at her, "What did Detective Boyd say?"

Andy sighed, "Okay, but promise me you won't go all Sam on him."

"Go all Sam on him?" He repeated, his eyebrows raised.

"You know what I mean."

"No," Sam said, turning towards her, "I don't think that I do."

"I'm going to tell you what he said and then you're going to get pissed off and then you're going to go try and beat him up."

"Believe it or not Andy," Sam said, slightly offended, "I don't just go around randomly beating up people. I can control myself."

"Oh really?" Andy said, raising an eyebrow in challenge. "Retraining?"

"That was different."

"How so?" She asked petulantly.

Sam let out an exasperated sigh. "You really want to get into this?"

Andy nodded.

"Alright, fine," He said, pulling into a parking spot on the street outside of the coffee shop. "When you came back after the shooting, you knew it was going to be awkward to see me, right?"

"Well, yeah…"

"Awkward," Sam reiterated, "but you were still kind of looking forward to it, right?"

"Yeah," Andy said.

"So let's just say that you're looking forward to seeing me again because I've been gone all week and you've been stuck riding with Epstein the whole time because Shaw was out too."

"Wait," Andy interrupted, "Are we talking about you or me now?"

Sam sighed. "Just pretend you're in my position."

"Okay."

"Okay, so you're happy I'm coming back, you've even brought me coffee…"

"You brought me coffee? I didn't know that." Andy said, a pleased smile on her face. When Sam shot her a look she quickly recanted, "Not the point, right."

"So you get to the station and you're looking around for me but instead of finding me, you run in to…" Sam paused for dramatic effect, "Monica."

"Monica?" Andy asked, turning her nose up.

"Monica, who I'd been dating." Sam confirmed. "And you don't so much run into her as she comes to find you. Oh, and don't forget, you made out with me a week ago."

"How could I possibly forget that?" Andy interjected, teasing.

Sam ignored her. "So you're a little bit concerned that Monica is going to deck you because she found out about said making out, but instead she just tells you that she's worried about me and she's taking me up to a fishing cabin to get me away from everything."

"She obviously doesn't know you very well," Andy said, her lips pursed. "Why would you want to go to a fishing cabin?"

"Excellent question, I had the same one." Sam told her. "So you ask why she's taking me to a fishing cabin and Monica tells you in no uncertain terms that she's taking me there to have her way with me."

"Ugh," Andy said, rolling her eyes in disgust.

"Oh, it gets better," Sam promised. "Not only is Monica taking me up to the fishing cabin to have her way with me, but she needs your help to make it happen."

"Can you stop saying _have her way with me?_" Andy asked, shivering in revulsion at the thought.

"Why?" Sam asked with a slight smirk, "Does it bother you?"

"A little," she admitted.

"Well, here's the final blow. She tells you that it was all my idea."

Andy shrugged, acknowledging, "Okay, I guess I would be a little upset."

"Just a little?"

"Fine," Andy confessed. "Thinking about it makes me want to rip her hair out."

"Exactly, " Sam said. "Look, I'm not saying I didn't go overboard, I know I did, but now maybe you understand why."

Andy nodded and one side of her mouth lifted into a small smile. "I'm sorry."

"For what?" He asked, looking over at her.

She caught his gaze and held it. "I don't think I ever realized what it was like for you," she said, shrugging. "The thought of you with someone else just…" she shuddered, "ugh, makes me sick."

"Well," Sam said, smiling slightly, "You don't have to worry about that."

Andy reached across the console of the car to take his hand. "I know," she said, squeezing his hand gently.

"Don't get me wrong, its not like I enjoyed it," Sam said, shrugging, "but I told Andy, I'd wait until you were ready."

Andy smiled, remembering their conversation. "Hey Sam," she asked, leaning closer to him. "When we get home tonight…" she trailed off and Sam's eyes widened, "I'll do that thing you like so much."

"You will?" She nodded. "Did I mention that I had to wait a _really_ long time?" He asked, grinning.

She smiled, "Do you think we could break that pesky no kissing in the squad car rule, just this once?"

Sam grinned, his brown eyes warm, and Andy took it as encouragement to lean in even closer. Just as her lips were hovering over his he pulled back. "After you tell me what Boyd said."

Andy sighed, the moment ruined, and flopped back into her seat. "Okay, but just remember that I know Boyd's an ass."

Sam nodded patiently. "Okay."

"Well, apparently one night he was talking to Chris and they saw us leaving together."

"And…" Sam prodded.

Andy let out a deep breath. "And he asked Chris if I was the division's bicycle."

Sam shook his head. "What does that mean?"

"The division's bicycle…" Andy said again, trying to get him to understand. When he simply furrowed his brow at her she sighed and explained, "Everyone gets a turn?"

Andy watched as Sam's lips tightened into a scowl and anger flashed in his eyes. "Diaz told you he said that?"

Andy nodded. "Yeah, just to warn me about what people might be saying."

Sam was silent for a moment and Andy could practically see the internal debate he was having with himself, the effort that he was making to control his reaction. When he finally spoke his voice was soft and low, "You know no one thinks that, right?"

She nodded again, "I know. Don't worry about it, okay… I shouldn't have said anything."

"No," he said, reaching to take her hand, "I'm glad you told me." He paused for a beat. "I'm not going to beat him up, don't worry."

"Okay, good."

"Even though I really want to."

"I know you do sweetie," Andy grinned, patting his hand.

Sam winked and crooked his finger at her. "Just this once," he said, kissing her forehead before kissing her lightly on the lips. "Don't get used to it."

"Yes sir," She laughed, nodding over to the coffee shop. "Whatever happened to that coffee you brought me?"

"I threw it away," Sam admitted, unbuckling his seatbelt.

"You threw away a perfectly good cup of coffee?"

Sam sighed, pushing his door open, "Do I need to remind you about how Monica wanted to have her way…"

"Stop," Andy said, holding up her hand. "I don't need to hear that again."

Sam rolled his eyes. "How about I buy you one now McNally? Will that make up for it?"

"I guess so," Andy said with an exaggerated sigh, smiling as she exited the car. She shoved her hands in her pockets and hurried to catch up with him, bumping her hip against his. "You know, I kinda like you, Sam Swarek."

"Well that's good McNally," Sam said, holding the door open for her, "I kinda like you, too."


	10. On Prostitutes and Priorities

_Author's Note: As always, thank you for the reviews! Hope you enjoy this chapter!_

_Disclaimer: I do not own Rookie Blue. _

**Chapter 10: On Prostitutes and Priorities**

Sam couldn't help but grin when he saw the delighted smile that spread across Andy's face as she looked into the squad car. He quickly tamed it when she turned to him, replacing it with his usual expression of bored indifference.

"What are those?" Andy asked, still beaming.

Her giddiness caused him to crack the slightest of smiles. "They look like flowers to me, McNally," he said, opening her door for her.

"They are red roses," Andy clarified, leaning against the side of the car. "Now why would someone give me red roses on a day like today?" She wondered, bemused, tapping her finger against her chin.

Sam cleared his throat before humoring her. "Happy Valentine's Day, Andy," he said as sincerely as he possibly could, fighting the urge to roll his eyes.

"Thank you." She grinned at him before pointing out, "You hate Valentine's Day."

"I do," he agreed, nodding sharply. "But I figured that you probably don't."

"I don't."

Sam shrugged, "Hence…" he motioned towards the flowers, "the roses. And dinner tonight." He grinned, proud of himself, "I made reservations."

"Yikes," Andy said, sucking in a breath, "I wish you would have told me earlier, I already made plans with someone…" she trailed off, giggling, as he pinned her against the car, his hands coming to rest around her waist.

"No you didn't," he said with certainty, more of a statement of fact than a question.

Andy smiled, running her hand down his arm. "No I didn't."

She felt him take half step closer to her so his that body was just barely touching hers. "Andy…" he said, his voice low and husky.

She was about to respond when they were interrupted. "Get a room," Epstein called with a sly grin as he passed their car, "I hear interview one is free now." Diaz, who was walking with him, just laughed.

Andy watched over Sam's shoulder as the two walked away before shifting her gaze back to Sam, scowling. He had remained silent, which Andy knew took some restraint, and when her eyes met his he just winked at her and grinned. "Want me to go all Sam on his ass?" He asked, nodding his head in Epstein's direction before taking a step back and releasing her.

Andy laughed, shaking her head. "He's harmless. Besides, you could probably just look at him the wrong way and he'd wet his pants," she told him. Turning around, she picked the roses up from the passenger's seat and admired them for a moment before handing them over to Sam. "When did you have time to put these in the car?"

"I have my ways McNally," he said, placing the flowers in the backseat. When she arched an eyebrow at him he gave in, "I picked them up yesterday when you were working on those reports I had you file and kept them in my locker. I ran 'em out here this morning when you were getting ready. "

"Aw…" Andy said sweetly before narrowing her eyes at him and accusing, "You made me do all that work just so you could buy me flowers?"

Sam smirked, "I had to keep you occupied somehow."

Andy laughed, not really upset, and slid into the passenger's seat. "Well thank you," she said, "They're beautiful."

"So are you," Sam said smoothly, bracing both hands on the doorframe and leaning into the car.

Andy rolled her eyes at the corny line but smiled anyway, "That was sweet," she teased. "But lame."

"Kind of like Valentine's Day."

"Oh, touché," she granted, leaning back in her seat. Sam closed her door before walking around to his side of the car and climbing in. "So you wanna tell me what you did to Best?"

"What do you mean?" Sam asked, buckling his seatbelt and starting the car.

"School zone patrol?" Andy asked incredulously, "If that doesn't say payback assignment I'm not sure what does. And don't think I didn't notice the little look that passed between you guys when he handed out assignments."

Sam grinned, knowing he was caught. "Did you happen to see the woman that Best was talking to last night at the Penny?"

Andy thought back to the night before and remembered seeing Best talking to someone at the bar. "Yeah, she was really pretty."

"Yeah," Sam nodded. "_HE _was."

Andy's eyebrows shot up. "No!"

"Oh yes," Sam said, laughing, "Shaw brought her in earlier for hooking over on Rosemont and we didn't really have enough to keep her, but Shaw made it seem like we were cutting a deal and letting her go. She was _very _appreciative and when she showed up last night at the Penny she asked if there was anyway she could return the favor."

"A transvestite prostitute propositioned police officers?" Andy questioned suspiciously.

"Not so much propositioned as… offered favors." Sam said, grinning. "Free, completely legal favors. Anyway, I was sitting with Shaw and Jerry when she came up to us we just sent her on over to Best."

Andy laughed, "How did he not know?"

Sam shrugged. "Guy's had a long year… recently divorced, new job… he was probably thrilled to be talking to a woman not in uniform."

"What's wrong with talking to a woman in uniform?" Andy grumbled good-naturedly.

Sam looked over at her and winked, "Nothing, especially when you have the privilege of taking the uniform off of her occasionally." He smiled when he saw Andy's cheeks flush with color. "But I don't think Best has done that in quite some time."

"So what happened?" Andy asked, getting back to the story.

Sam parked the car so they could easily watch the school zone traffic and then turned to her. "Apparently they got along really well and Best offered to take her home," he said, "It wasn't until he took her hand and realized that it was as big as his was that he figured out what was going on."

Andy couldn't help but laugh as she imagined the look on Best's face when he realized who he had been flirting with the whole night. A thought occurred to her. "What if he hadn't realized?" Andy asked, her eyes wide, "What if he had gotten home and they'd…?" She couldn't finish the sentence, just waved her hand in the air.

"I'm sure he would have figured it out eventually McNally," Sam laughed. "Anyway, that's why we're on school zone patrol today and probably tomorrow, too." He grinned sheepishly. "Sorry," he said without much conviction.

Andy just shook her head, laughing lightly. "Its okay." She paused for a moment, thinking. "You and Oliver and Jerry have been friends for a while, haven't you?"

Sam nodded. "We went through the academy together. Why?"

"Just wondering," Andy said. After a beat, "Why didn't you ever go out for detective? You're definitely smart enough, you read people well, see things other people don't see…"

Sam shook his head, cutting her off. "That's only part of their job," he told her. "The investigative stuff is fun but there's no way I could handle sitting behind a desk and reading files all day long. I'd go out of my mind."

Andy nodded in understanding while motioning out the window, "Because watching these people try to drive 40kph is where the excitement is at."

"Exactly," Sam grinned.

"Do you ever think about going back undercover?"

Sam looked over at her, his eyebrows raised. "What makes you ask that?"

Andy shrugged, "If I hadn't arrested you that day, you might still be there."

"No," Sam denied, shaking his head, "I only needed a couple more weeks, a month tops. There's no way I'd still be under."

"Well, regardless," Andy said, "Do you ever think about going back?"

Sam was quiet for a moment, thinking. "Sometimes," he told her honestly. "But priorities change. I'm happy where I am now."

"What do you mean… priorities change?"

"Andy," Sam said, pausing as he tried to figure out how to phrase what he wanted to say, "Being undercover is hard to explain, especially if you're living that way, not just going under a day or two at a time. You become a different person, you have to. Most guys go under when they don't have anything to leave behind."

Andy nodded slowly, "So when you went under last time…"

"It was just me," Sam told her. "It's challenging enough to live undercover and not completely lose yourself in the lifestyle." He glanced over at her, "I can't imagine trying to do it and know that you've left a family or a serious relationship behind."

"And now?"

Sam looked over at her, one side of his mouth curving into a smile. "I've got you."

Andy sighed. "I don't want to be the one holding you back from doing something you want to do."

Sam furrowed his brow, "You're not holding me back from anything. Where is all this coming from?"

"Its just… I know your job is important to you and I don't want to get in the way of you doing what you…"

As she continued explaining, Sam's eyes widened in realization of where her insecurity was coming from. "Callaghan really screwed you up, didn't he?" Sam asked angrily, interrupting her.

"What?"

"Andy," he said, reaching over to take her hand, making her look at him. "Yes, I am good at my job and yes, it's important to me," he paused and took a deep breath, "But if I had to choose between it and you… you would win, every time."

Andy blinked at him, "I don't want you to have to make that choice."

"Its not even a choice Andy," Sam said, rolling his eyes. "I love you, I'm not leaving you behind just to further my already very satisfying career."

He obviously didn't realize what he had said, but Andy did. "You what?"

"I'm not leaving you…" Sam started to repeat.

"Before that."

Sam thought back over what he had said and a small smile spread across his face. "You already know that," he said.

"I do." Andy shook her head, grinning. "But you've never actually told me."

Sam sighed, but smiled anyway. "I love you, Andy."

"I love you, too, Sam."

They smiled at each other, neither saying a word to interrupt the moment until Sam squeezed her hand. "Good," he said with a slight nod, "Now that we've gotten that out of the way…"

Andy rolled her eyes, "You're so romantic."

Sam just grinned before asking seriously, "Will you believe me when I tell you that you're not holding me back from anything? That I'm happy where I am?"

She nodded. "I believe you."

"Good."

A quiet settled over them as they watched the cars drive slowly through the school zone. Andy glanced behind her into the backseat for a second and saw the roses. "Sam," she teased, turning around. "You first told me you love me on Valentine's Day. Isn't that a little… clichéd?"

Sam groaned. "Oh, please, kill me now."


	11. On Bad Indian Food and Being Careful

_Author's Note: Thank you for the sweet reviews! I am so glad that you guys seem to be enjoying this story. I am definitely having fun writing it! _

_Disclaimer: I do not own Rookie Blue_

_Courty123: Hey! If you're reading this I just want you to know that I got your message but I can't respond because you've got private messaging turned off. Turn PM back on and I'll be more than happy to help any way I can! _

**Chapter 11: On Bad Indian Food and Being Careful**

"Sam," Andy said, nauseated, "You've got to pull over."

Sam looked over at her, concerned. "Again?" He asked, pulling over onto the shoulder.

She nodded and was able to get her door open before leaning out of the car and throwing up on the side of the road. Sam winced at the sound, but leaned across the squad car to rub a comforting hand up and down her back.

"I wish you would have just stayed at home," he told her when it seemed like she was finished. "You're sick."

"No, I feel fine now." Andy shook her head, coughing once more before spitting on the ground. He handed her a water bottle and she took a sip, swishing it around in her mouth before spitting it out. "Its probably just something I ate."

"That's it," Sam said, irritated. "I swear, we are never eating at a restaurant whose name I can't pronounce again, period. I don't know why I ever let you talk me into getting Indian food…"

Sam continued to ramble on about having to eat with his hands as he pulled back onto the street, but Andy immediately fixated on one word. "Oh God," she mumbled to herself. She flipped her phone open and quickly checked the calendar. "Oh no."

"What's wrong?" Sam asked, not really paying attention.

"Sam," Andy said, flipping her phone closed and squeezing her eyes shut, a headache suddenly developing. "I'm late."

"That's the great thing about being coppers, McNally, people wait on us." He turned to grin at her but stopped short at the look on her face.

"No," Andy explained, "I mean, I'm late… late."

"Oh. _OH_," Sam's eyes widened in understanding. He paused for a moment before asking, "Like just a couple days or…?"

Andy shook her head. "No, I've only had that one since we've been together. Remember?"

Sam smirked, "How could I forget?" He had planned a romantic evening for Andy, hoping to make their first time together special… only to have it shot to hell when she'd kindly informed him that there was no way he was getting anywhere near her that night.

"That was what? Two and a half months ago? I should have had at least one more since then. I don't know how I didn't realize… " she trailed off, rubbing her temple.

"Maybe you've just been stressed," Sam offered, "That could make it late, right?"

"Yeah," Andy nodded. "Yeah, I guess."

"Okay, and we've been careful…" He trailed off when Andy raised an eyebrow at him. "What?" He asked innocently.

"We haven't been _that _careful," Andy said, fixing him with a look.

"You're on the pill though, right?"

Andy shook her head. "Remember that weekend when my prescription ran out on Friday and I couldn't get it filled until Monday?"

"Oh yeah," Sam said, giving her a significant look and working his dimples, "I remember."

"Gah…" Andy said, leaning back against the headrest. "This is all your fault you know."

"My fault?" Sam asked, his eyes wide. "How is it my fault that you can't resist me?"

Andy rolled her eyes at his cocky grin. "Just think about it Sam," she said, "I'm late, I've been moody," Andy ignored the nod of agreement that Sam gave to her last statement, "I've been tired all the time, I've thrown up everything I've eaten in the past 48 hours…"

"Your boobs have been sore," Sam interjected.

Andy shook her head, caught off guard by his comment. "How do you know that my boobs have been sore?"

"Aside from the fact that you've practically levitated off the bed every time I've tried to touch you this week?" Sam asked. "You slamming your elbow into my stomach last night was a pretty good indicator."

"I don't remember that."

Sam shrugged. "You were asleep."

Andy narrowed her eyes. "You tried to feel me up while I was sleeping?" She asked accusingly.

"Don't act so scandalized," Sam said, rolling his eyes at her tone, "I was just putting my arm around you. I didn't even realize what I had done until I was doubled over in pain and gasping for air."

Andy couldn't help but laugh. "I'm sorry," she told him.

"It's okay," Sam said, shrugging. "You didn't know."

He looked over at Andy and saw her fidgeting nervously, wringing her hands. Reaching over, he placed one of his hands over hers, stopping the movement. "Hey," he said, getting her attention. Her eyes flew up to meet his and he could see the fear that was in them, could see the worry that she tried to cover up with the small, shaky smile that she gave him. "Andy, it's going to be okay," he assured her, his voice warm and calm.

"How do you know?" She asked quietly, timidly.

Sam squeezed her hand. "Because I do," he said simply.

Andy exhaled, nodding. "How are you so calm about this?" She didn't know why she expected him to act any differently… Sam was always the calm, controlled one, unfazed by any situation they found themselves in.

"Andy," Sam said sincerely, "First of all, we don't know for sure. Second, I know we haven't had the whole 'what's in our future' talk yet, but I was planning on marrying you and knocking you up at some point anyway." Andy rolled her eyes at his choice of words, but couldn't help but smile at the sentiment and commitment behind them. Sam grinned at her. "And yeah," he acknowledged, "It's kind of soon, but if you _are_ pregnant it won't change anything… it'll just speed things up a little bit."

They had yet to actually say the word _pregnant_ and hearing it spoken out loud caused Andy to take a sharp intake of air.

"It's going to be okay, Andy," Sam told her again. "I promise."

"Thank you," Andy said, her eyes filling with tears. "You can be really sweet sometimes."

He nodded and winked at her. "I have my moments," he said, flipping his phone open.

"What are you doing?" Andy asked, wiping her fingers underneath her eyes.

Sam held up a finger. "Hey, Oliver," he said into the phone, "Listen, I need a favor. McNally and I were on our way over to Memorial to talk to that tractor truck driver but something came up. Could you handle it? I'll get your drinks at the Penny later. " He paused for a moment, "Thanks man, I appreciate it."

"What was that?" Andy asked as he flipped the phone closed.

"Well," Sam said, "We're not going to drive around all day wondering if you're pregnant or not." He made a sharp right turn, "So we're going to go to that drugstore," he said, pointing in front of him, "and we're going to get a test. Then we'll know, one way or the other, and we can go from there."

"Yeah," Andy said, unable to argue with his logic. "Yeah, okay."

Sam parallel parked in front of the drugstore and went to open his door.

"You're coming in with me?" Andy asked, surprised.

Sam shook his head, confused by her question. "Nope," he said, "I figured I'd just drop my sperm off and let you take care of the rest." Andy wrinkled her nose and rolled her eyes and Sam realized the remark sounded much harsher than he had intended. He softened, "Of course I'm coming in there with you Andy."

She nodded quickly and smiled, trying to put on a brave face. "Okay," she said, "Let's go."

When they walked in the store Andy was relieved to find that it was almost empty. They quickly made their way to the feminine products aisle before standing in front of the pregnancy tests, slightly overwhelmed at how many options there were.

"No, don't get the cheap one," Sam said when she reached out to pick one up. "Get the good one."

Andy waved a hand towards the shelf, exasperated, "Care to tell me which one is the good one?"

Sam sighed before grabbing the most expensive one. "We better get two," he said to himself, grabbing another one, "Just in case." Sam reached for her hand and pulled her towards the checkout. The clerk glanced back and forth between the two uniformed officers and looked like she wanted to say something, but wisely decided to stay quiet. Sam was being sweet to her, but Andy didn't want to see what might have occurred if the clerk had made some smart remark.

Sam paid for the tests without a word and took the plastic bag, grabbing Andy's hand again and tugging her out of the store.

"Okay," he said, opening her door. "There's a gas station down the street," he jerked his thumb in its direction, "or we can go to my house."

Andy looked around, trying to decide what to do. "The gas station's fine… I guess."

"You sure? We can go to my house if you want," Sam told her, "It's not that far."

Andy shook her head, getting in to the car. "No, the gas station's great."

Sam nodded and shut her door before rounding the front of the car and getting in. The short ride to the gas station was silent, filled with tense anticipation.

Andy couldn't help but laugh when they pulled up. "What's so funny?" Sam asked, amused.

Andy pointed to the sign, still laughing, "We're about to find out what could be huge, life changing news at a place called 'Frank's Stop and Go' with a picture of a giant cartoon moose on its sign."

Sam grinned, "It'll make a good story one day." He looked over at her and held her gaze for a moment. "You scared?" He asked.

"No," she told him, shaking her head firmly.

"Why's that?"

She smiled at him with watery eyes. "Because you're here."

Sam smiled back, remembering how she had spoken similar words to him the first day they worked together. His chest had swelled with pride at the trust that she put in him then but it was nothing compared to the enormity of responsibility and love he felt at that very moment. "I love you," he told her, simply, honestly.

"I love you, too." She said, leaning towards him across the console. He met her halfway and pressed a sweet, sincere kiss against her lips. Pulling back slightly, he winked at her before kissing her once last time.

"Alright," Sam said, opening his door, "Ready to go pee on a stick?"


	12. On the Right Time and Repeat Offenders

_Author's Note: Thank you for all of the reviews! I'm sorry this has taken me so long to get out, it's been a busy weekend! Hopefully fanfiction . net is back up and working again. This is kind of a transitional chapter but I hope you enjoy it! _

_Disclaimer: I do not own Rookie Blue. _

**On the Right Time and Repeat Offenders**

Sam noticed the lady pushing her baby in a stroller down the sidewalk about the same time he heard Andy sigh. He looked over and saw Andy watching the pair, her eyes soft. "Hey," he said, reaching over to take her hand, "You okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine." she nodded, giving him a small smile. "I know we weren't planning it or anything, but I got kind of excited about the possibility there for a minute."

"I know," Sam said, squeezing her hand, "Me too."

They had waited anxiously for the results of the test and when one line appeared instead of two Andy gave a faint smile. "I guess that's good news," she said.

Sam shrugged. "You wanna try the second one, just in case?"

"Yeah," Andy said quickly, taking it from him. "Just in case."

The second one was negative, too. Andy stared at the line for a moment before turning to Sam. "I guess we dodged that bullet," she said, trying to smile despite the unexpected sadness she felt.

Sam nodded and pulled Andy into a hug, wrapping his arms around her. She sighed and her breath was warm on his neck. "Is it weird that I'm a little disappointed?" She asked, her hands clutching his shirt beneath his vest.

"No," Sam said, shaking his head and tightening his arms. They stood together in the tiny bathroom, neither speaking, both finding the comfort they needed in each other's touch. After a moment Sam broke the tension and teased, "I mean, who wouldn't want to have my babies?"

Andy laughed lightly and tried to pull away, but Sam wouldn't let her, not just yet. "Sam," she pleaded, trying to push him away. "Your radio is digging into my hip bone."

"My radio?" Sam grinned as he finally stepped back. "Is that what they call it these days?"

It was corny, but Andy laughed anyway. She knew that he was trying to cheer her up and couldn't help but find it adorable. "Can we get out of here?" She asked, her eyes flicking around and taking in the state of the bathroom, "I feel like we're going to catch something."

Sam nodded and took her hand, tugging her out of the bathroom. "You know that kid is going to think we came in here for a quickie," he said quietly as he tilted his head towards the store clerk.

Andy wrinkled her nose, thinking back to the cleanliness, or lack thereof, of the bathroom. She suddenly felt nauseated. "No offense, but that kind of makes me want to throw up again."

Sam found Andy sniffling in the bathroom the next morning. "So," he asked, sliding down the wall to sit next to her, "Are we definitely not parents?"

"Definitely not." Andy nodded. "I guess it really was just stress." She ran her fingers beneath her eyes. "I don't even know why I'm crying," she said, laughing pitifully. "Stupid hormones."

Sam put his arm around her shoulder and she leaned against him. "We'll be ready one day, Andy." He promised, kissing the top of her head.

Back in the car, Andy and Sam rode quietly until a message came in over dispatch. "Stand by for the hotshot. We've got a female shoplifter detained by the storeowner at Dollar General on Farris Avenue."

Sam looked over at Andy and she picked up the radio to call in, "1505, we're on route."

After flipping the sirens and the lights on, Andy turned to Sam. "Dollar General?"

"Everything's not just a dollar there." Sam pointed out, playing dumb. "It's a common misconception."

Andy narrowed her eyes. "You know who that is."

"It could be anyone," he argued.

"How many people are shoplifting from the Dollar General?"

"You'd be surprised."

"No," Andy held firmly, shaking her head. "Its got to be her. This is the fourth time in what… two months? Why aren't they holding her longer?"

"It's a misdemeanor," Sam said, "Probably don't have much to keep her on. Its petty stuff, less than a hundred every time."

"I think she does it so you'll keep arresting her."

Sam rolled his eyes, "She does not."

"Well, if they want us to arrest her this time, I'm doing it."

"Andy…"

"No," she said, "Remember what happened last time?"

Sam shrugged and conceded, "She did get a little… handsy."

"A _little _handsy?" Andy repeated incredulously. "When you were putting the handcuffs on her she tried to grab your crotch! You should have brought sexual assault charges against her."

"Oh please…"

"Don't oh please me," Andy said, her voice raised slightly, "You would have flipped out if someone had done that to me."

"True," Sam agreed. "Okay, if it is our friend, which we don't know that it is yet, she weighs less than a hundred pounds…"

"Most crackheads do," Andy interjected.

Sam ignored her. "I'm not really concerned about her hurting me."

"I'm not concerned about her hurting you either," Andy agreed. "But I'm still the one that's cuffing her. Maybe she'll stop shoplifting if she figures out she can't cop a feel of fifteenths finest."

Sam laughed. "What's so funny?" Andy asked.

"Cop a feel…" Sam repeated, raising an eyebrow. Andy shook her head, not understanding, and he explained, "I'm a cop."

Andy stared at him for a moment before cracking up. "You're so ridiculous."

Sam shrugged. "You were the one that said it."

They pulled up to the store and Andy snorted as she saw who was sitting outside. "I knew it was going to be her," she said, flinging open her door. "I knew it."

"Amber," Sam said smoothly, exiting the squad car. "Fancy seeing you here." He paused for a beat and then, "Again."

The small blonde woman smiled at Sam. "It's always good to see you, officer," she said boldly.

Andy rolled her eyes at the way Amber's voice suddenly became much deeper and huskier when she said "officer".

The storeowner looked to the two officers, "Look, I've tried to be nice, but I'm going to have to press charges this time. It's getting ridiculous."

"Of course," Andy said, stepping beside Amber. "What did she take this time?"

"Some house wares and clothing, it's all on tape," the owner told her.

While Andy was talking to the man Amber was busy batting her eyes at Sam, trying to get his attention. For his part, Sam studiously ignored the flirtation, concentrating instead on his partner's conversation.

"Alright ma'am," Andy addressed Amber, "We're going to have to take you in." Andy took hold of Amber's arm and spun her around, reading her her rights.

Amber interrupted her. "Can't you cuff me, officer?" She asked, peering at Sam. Again her voiced dipped, "You're much gentler than your partner."

Sam just smirked as Andy's eyes flashed with annoyance at the double entendre. "Officer McNally is going to do it this time," he told her. "You don't want to get in any more trouble."

"That's very kind of you to be thinking about my well being," Amber said, her voice as smooth as velvet.

Andy couldn't believe the audacity of the woman, "Oh honestly," she swore, clicking the cuffs closed slightly rougher than necessary. "Let's go," Andy said, leading the woman back to the car.

Sam walked in front of them and opened the back door. "Get in," he said, motioning to the back seat. Amber tried to brush Sam as she slid in the car, but Andy put her hand on top of the woman's head and guided her in.

"You know," Amber mused once they were headed back to the station, "Its funny we keep running into each other."

"Yeah, its hilarious," Andy responded instead of Sam. "You commit a crime and the police come. It's crazy."

Sam remained silent, but he turned to look at Andy, failing in his attempt to hide his smile. He was obviously amused at how much she was bothered by the tiny blonde. Andy met his gaze and narrowed her eyes at him, but he just laughed lightly, shaking his head.

Amber pursed her lips, irritated with the female officer, and leaned forward towards Sam, "Hey sweetie," she purred, "Maybe when I get out you and I could spend sometime together… not in a police car."

"I'm flattered Amber," Sam said, grinning patiently into the rearview mirror, "But I don't think so."

"Why not honey?" She asked, her voice dripping with seduction.

Andy exhaled deeply before turning around the face the woman. "His name," Andy told her sharply, "is Officer Swarek. Not honey, not sweetie, not anything other than Officer Swarek."

Amber raised an challenging eyebrow at Andy before turning back to Sam. "Are you married," she paused, giving Andy a significant look, "_Officer Swarek_?"

Sam shook his head. "Nope."

"Then what's the problem?"

"Well Amber," Sam explained, "Aside from the fact that I have a general policy against dating convicts," he said with a pointed look, "I may not be married, _yet, _but I do have a pretty great thing going with a pretty incredible woman." He may eye contact with Amber through the rearview mirror, "I wouldn't do anything to mess that up."

He looked from Amber over to Andy and winked. Andy couldn't help the small smile that tugged at her lips. Sitting back in her seat she sighed, feeling slightly foolish for getting so worked up over Amber. As if Sam could tell what she was thinking, he reached a hand over and squeezed hers gently before replacing it on the steering wheel.

The movement was hidden from Amber by the divider, but she got the point and slumped back into her seat with a defeated groan. She observed the two officers and noticed the small smiles that they were giving one another.

Grinning wickedly, sure of her assessment, she leaned forward. "So," she asked innocently, "Does your old lady know you're sleeping with your partner?"


	13. On Letting Me In

_Author's Note: I'm sorry to those of you that were disappointed that Andy wasn't pregnant. I hope you're not too upset :). Thank you for all of the reviews! I hope you all enjoy this chapter!_

_Disclaimer: I do not own Rookie Blue_

**Chapter 13: On Letting Me In **

As Andy rode in tense silence next to Sam, she tried to count the number of times she had seen him good and truly pissed off. If she limited it to the times she had seen him pissed at her, she could count it on one hand.

The first was the first day they met. Apparently he didn't appreciate having eight months of hard work blown by an over eager rookie. She could understand that.

The second was when she and Epstein had let Sadie go unattended into the warehouse after her disastrous hooker detail. He had been pissed that they made such a terrible, rookie decision and, as he later explained, that she had put herself in so much danger. Understandable.

The third didn't occur until much later, when she had smarted off at him during the child abduction case in front of Luke. Again, understandable.

The fourth was after she had opened the door and Ray Swann had escaped. That needed no explanation.

Until earlier that morning, Andy still had one finger free. That was, she had one finger free until she had disagreed with him in Best's office. Because of information that Luke had given her.

They had been riding for almost an hour when she first tried to talk to him. "Sam..."

"Not now, Andy," he said, concentrating on the road in front of him.

"Are we just not going to talk..."

"I don't want to talk about it right now." He interrupted her, his eyes flashed over to meet hers. "Please."

She just nodded slightly and sat back in her seat. "Okay."

Andy could see the way that Sam was clenching his jaw causing the vein in his neck to bulge slightly. She noticed how his fingers tightened rhythmically around the steering wheel until his knuckles turned white. He was practically radiating anger and all she could do was sit there and watch.

She supposed that she should be angry too, he was the one who hadn't bothered to listen to her in the first place, but she couldn't bring herself to it.

Sam suddenly jerked the car to the side of the road and put it in park. Leaving it on and the keys in the ignition, he stepped out of the car, slammed his door shut and walked around to the back.

At least he was thoughtful enough to leave the heat on.

Andy watched in the rearview mirror as he leaned against the trunk with his arms folded in front of his chest. She could see his shoulders rise and fall with every deep, measured breath he took. Ever so often he would reach up to pinch the bridge of his nose or rub his temple.

Andy waited in the car until she couldn't handle it anymore. Sighing, she reached over and turned the engine off before pocketing the keys. Almost as an after thought she grabbed the heavy coat that he had yanked off as soon as they had gotten into the car out of his seat. Steeling herself for the conversation to come, she pushed her door open and pulled her own coat tightly around her.

Sam didn't acknowledge her presence as she came around to lean against the car beside him, he just kept looking forward. Andy handed him his coat and he shrugged it on without a word. She knew that had it not been freezing outside he probably would have ignored the small gesture.

Eventually he turned to look at her. His eyes were dark and unfamiliar and he just stared at her without saying anything. Andy thought that at one point, when she didn't know him as well, she would have turned away from his intimidating gaze, but right then she held it, waiting for him to speak.

After a long moment he cleared his throat. "We're partners," he said, simply, in a tone that was far calmer and controlled than she had expected.

She nodded. "I know."

"What happened to having my back?"

"You didn't have all the information," she told him. "I tried to tell you before we went in there but you wouldn't listen to me." Andy sighed and looked down, deciding to just be honest. "You were wrong."

Sam sucked his cheeks in and she knew he was biting the inside of his left one. It was what he did when he knew he was wrong but was still too upset to admit it.

"If you're upset that it was Luke who came to me with the information…"

Sam scoffed and shook his head. "I couldn't care less about Callaghan."

"Okay," she accepted with a small nod. She moved to stand closer to him, more for his body heat than anything else. "Are you angry with me or are you upset about the girl?"

"A little bit of both," he replied truthfully.

"That's fair," Andy said. After a moment she asked, "You wanna tell me about her?"

He sighed and took a step in her direction until they were standing shoulder to shoulder, which Andy viewed as a small victory. "Her name was Elizabeth. She was one of Anton Hill's girls," he told her, looking down to the ground.

Andy's eyebrows shot up. "As in…?" She didn't need to finish the question.

Sam nodded. "She was thirteen. She had been hooking for him since she was eleven. I knew her when I was undercover."

"What do you mean you knew her?"

Sam turned his head to the side to face her. "You remember when I told you about Sarah?" Andy nodded. "Elizabeth reminded me of what Sarah was like at her age."

"When she was attacked?" Andy asked, even though she knew the answer.

"Yeah," Sam affirmed quietly. "Anyway, when I was undercover I'd go down to their corner sometimes and get her for a few hours. I told my contact I was trying to get information but really…" he paused and cleared his throat. "Really I just couldn't stand the thought of…" He trailed off, visibly shuddering. "I would take her to get a hot meal or to a movie or something."

"That was nice of you."

"It was stupid of me, actually." Sam confessed. "I shouldn't have gotten personally involved."

"I'm sorry," Andy said, her mouth curving into a slight frown. "I didn't know."

"I know you didn't."

Andy took a chance and looped her arm through his. He surprised her when he didn't move away but actually tugged her closer to his side. "Everyone who saw those pictures of that little girl was affected by them," Andy told him, choosing her words carefully. "It made me sick to my stomach to think of someone doing that to her, and I didn't even know her." Sam just nodded, and Andy continued. "I can't imagine what it must have been like for you."

Sam just shrugged, unwilling or unable to admit just how hard it had been. "I should have listened to you. Before we went into Best's office," he clarified. "I'm sorry."

"Its okay," Andy said softly. "You were kind of lost in your own world there for a little while."

Sam nodded, looking away. "Yeah, when we got the info in parade I knew exactly who she was." He paused, "I figured it was the pimp that beat her up, but thought that if we could somehow prove Hill was the one who supplied the drugs we could finally have had something to nail him with." He shook his head, "It was too far-fetched, he never would have been careless enough to leave a trail. I don't know what I was thinking."

"It wasn't far-fetched," Andy assured him. "Sam, if Luke hadn't come to me with the information about the john before we went in there, I would have backed you a hundred percent. But it just didn't make sense to go after Hill when the guy had a rap sheet that was miles long."

"I know," Sam said quietly, "he was the right one to go after."

"I'm sorry it seemed like I was going against you."

Sam shook his head, giving her a small half smile. "If I had stopped and listened to you, you wouldn't have had to disagree with me."

Andy returned the slight smile. She knew from being with him long enough that he was disappointed in himself, disappointed in how he had handled the situation. Sighing, she hopped up onto the back of the car. Sam gave her an odd look but she just patted the space beside her, encouraging him without words to join her.

He raised an eyebrow at her, but decided to humor her and climbed up on the trunk to join her. They sat together silently, shoulder to shoulder, watching as the odd car sped down the road and then slowed when the driver noticed the police car.

"Sam," Andy said after a while, turning to face him. "You want to know what I admire most about you?"

Sam laughed humorlessly. "I don't really think I deserve to know right now," he replied in a low, self-deprecating tone.

Andy ignored him. "You are fiercely loyal to the people that you love," she told him. "And you are incredibly selfless. Look at Jerry. I want to wring his neck at least once a week for not listening to you or for second guessing you, but you stay friends with the guy. You're always there for him when he needs you, no matter how much of an ass he'd been the day before.."

Sam started to interrupt her, but she held up a hand and continued. "And me… most guys would have given up on me long before you did. As a training officer you saw me through just about everything and even when I was with Luke you were the most loyal friend that I had. I could always, _always, _count on you."

"Not with Detective Bibby," Sam argued weakly.

"Well, that's true," Andy conceded with a shrug. "But I'm willing to forget that day ever happened," she told him, laughing.

He chuckled, "Thanks."

Andy nodded. "You even became a police officer because you wanted to protect innocent people like your sister. Today you were ready to take on the biggest drug lord in Toronto to find out what happened Elizabeth."

"That's not admirable," Sam said, shaking his head.

"Yes," Andy argued, "It is. And you know what else? I know if anything ever happened to me, or one of our kids," Sam raised a questioning eyebrow and she smiled, clarifying, "one of our maybe, one-day, future kids… I know that you would move heaven and earth until we were safe again."

Sam nodded firmly. "I would."

Andy turned to look at him. His warm, brown eyes met hers and she held his gaze. "You're one of the most honorable people that I know, Sam. There is no one I would rather be partners with…" she hesitated, "In this job or in life… than you."

Andy knew it was difficult for Sam to accept the compliment without making a self-deprecating comment, but he simply replied, "Thank you."

She nodded slightly and continued. "Just sometimes… I wish you would let me into your world."

"What do you mean?"

She shrugged. "You've been a part of my career since the very first day. You know everything that has happened to me… every screw up I've made, every case I've ever worked." She grinned, "You know that I make a terrible prostitute."

Sam laughed, interrupting her, "That's not necessarily a bad thing, McNally."

"And don't think that I don't notice that you walk in front of me down dark hallways, or that I don't know you do it because you think it will bring back memories," Sam shrugged, unable to argue. "The point is… you know all of my hang ups, you know the things that set me off."

Sam looked over at her and gave her a sly grin, winking, "Oh yes I do."

"That's not what I meant," Andy said, slapping him on the arm. She shook her head, unable to keep from chuckling, "I'm trying to be serious here."

Sam held up both hands in innocence, "Sorry, continue."

Andy stopped laughing and became serious once again. "I don't know any of that stuff about you. I don't know what it was like to be undercover and aside from the Bevelochel case and Anton Hill, I don't know anything about the cases you worked. I don't know if you've ever shot anyone, and I've seen that scar on your leg that looks like a gun shot wound but you've never told me about it." Andy sighed, "When you get lost in your own world like you were this morning, I don't know where you've gone. I still need you to talk to me, to tell me what's going on."

Sam was silent for a moment, staring off into space. Eventually he turned to look at her again. "Three."

Andy raised an eyebrow. "Three?"

"I've shot three people," Sam explained, "One of them lived and two of them didn't."

"Oh." Andy didn't know what to say, so she just nodded, waiting for him to continue.

Sam pointed to his leg, "A nine year old shot me."

"A nine year old?"

Sam nodded, "I was arresting his dad for running a meth lab out of the basement of their house and the kid came downstairs with his dad's rifle. Shot me right in the leg."

"Wow."

"Yep."

"What happened to the kid?"

Sam shrugged, "I'm not sure. He went to juvie for a while but I stopped following the case. It was eight years ago."

"Wow," Andy repeated.

"You said that already," Sam teased, a small grin tugging his lips.

"I just…" Andy shook her head, caught off guard by the revelation, "Why didn't you tell me that before?"

"You didn't ask." Sam cleared his throat, looking over at Andy. "Andy, remember when you told me that I compartmentalize a lot?" Andy nodded. "Well, you weren't wrong. There's a lot of stuff that's happened, especially when I was undercover, that I just don't let myself think about. It's easier to get through the day if I can just put it on a shelf and forget about it. And that works out fine until things like this morning happen…" He paused, "And then its like I can't make myself stop remembering."

"I understand," Andy said. "I just want you to let me in when that happens." She shrugged, "Maybe I can help."

"You're more than welcome into my world, Andy," Sam told her sincerely. "You just have to remind me sometimes. This whole partnership thing," he grinned at her, gesturing between the two of them, and she caught the double meaning, "Is new to me."

Andy smiled, "Thank you."

Sam returned her smile. "So," he asked, "Is there anything else you want to know?"

"There's so much more I want to know," she told him, her teeth chattering. "But do you think we could continue this conversation in the car? It's freezing out here."

"I thought you'd never ask," Sam said quickly, hopping down off the car and extending his hand to her. "I lost feeling in my ass around the time you started telling me how awesome I am."

* * *

_Author's Note (2): So I know this was a little different than the conversations they've had before, but it was one that I wanted them to have. On the show, Sam tells Andy what a great police officer, person, etc. she is all the time, but she has never done the same. I thought it was time for Sam to get some encouragement. Anyway, hope you enjoyed! Please let me know what you think. Thanks! _


	14. On Poker Games and Backseats

_Author's Note: Thanks for the reviews everyone! I'm glad you enjoyed the last chapter… like I said, it was a conversation that I'd really like to see Andy and Sam have on the show. With that said, I like that Sam/Andy can be serious and playful with each other… this chapter was a lot of fun to write, so I hope you all enjoy it! Please let me know what you think. _

_Disclaimer: I do not own Rookie Blue. Shocking, I know. _

**On Poker Games and Backseats**

Andy's dark eyes flicked over to meet Sam's. He met her gaze with a challenging, questioning look. She hesitated for the briefest of moments before telling him, "I want to switch four cards."

Sam sighed, "You can't switch four cards, McNally, the most you can switch is three."

"Fine," Andy said, pulling three cards from her hand, "I want to switch these three. Make 'em good."

Sam rolled his eyes, but handed her three cards from the top of the deck.

Andy took the cards from him and grinned triumphantly as she arranged them in her hand.

"Nice poker face," Sam smirked.

Andy ignored him and continued fixing her cards. When she finally had them like she wanted them, she looked back up at him. "Alright, I'm ready."

"Okay," Sam said, "Do I need to go through the different hands again or do you remember?"

"I remember, let's go," she said. "Ante up, baby."

"Do you even know what that means?" Sam asked, amused.

"Nope," Andy shook her head, "But it sounded good."

"Okay, since there are only two of us we don't have to ante. We'll just bid." Sam paused, "And I left the poker chips in my other squad car," he joked, "So we're going to have to improvise."

Andy thought for a moment. "Chores."

"What?"

"Let's bet on chores."

"I was thinking more like clothes," he said, winking at her.

"We are not playing strip poker in the squad car, Sam, forget it."

"Its dark outside and we're parked in front of an abandoned warehouse," he said, grinning. "No one will know."

Andy just shot him a look.

"Fine," Sam sighed, feigning disappointment, "Chores it is. I'm dealer so you bid first."

Andy shot him a questioning glance. "Why are you the dealer?"

"I handed out the cards," he explained, his tone clearly reflecting the fact that he thought he was stating the obvious.

"Okay. I bid… dishes for one week."

"Oh, coming out strong, McNally," Sam teased. "Fine, I see your dishes and raise you two loads of laundry."

"Colors or whites?"

"Does it matter?"

"Yes."

"One load of each. And it has to be both our clothes," he added, "Not just yours."

"Okay." Andy paused, considering her next move. "I call."

"You don't want to bid anymore?"

Andy smiled sweetly. "I don't want you to lose anymore."

"Fine. If you call, you have to show you hand first."

"Full house," Andy said confidently, laying her cards down on the console.

Sam stared at the cards for a moment before swearing under his breath. "Two of kind," he said, placing his hand of cards next to hers.

"Now, correct me if I'm wrong," Andy grinned at him, "But isn't a full house is better than two of a kind?"

"Yes, Andy," Sam said patiently, humoring her. "You won."

"Yes!" Andy said triumphantly. "Make sure to use the dryer sheets, I hate static cling." Sam just smirked at her as she gathered up the cards. "Its my turn to be dealer," she said, deftly shuffling the stack before dealing five new cards to each of them.

Sam stared at his cards before choosing two to replace. "Here," he said, handing them to her. "I need two more."

She handed him two without a word and he sighed when he looked at them, placing them into his hand. He arranged his cards for a moment before leaning back in his seat and cutting his eyes over to her.

"Hey," Andy said, pulling her cards close to her chest, "Stop trying to peek at my cards."

"I wasn't peeking at your cards," Sam defended, rolling his eyes and slouching in his seat again. "I was trying to look down your shirt."

"I have a vest on," Andy pointed out, finding the flaw in his defense.

Sam just shrugged, unconcerned that he had been caught.

"It's your turn to bet first, _honey,_" Andy said.

"Okay," Sam said, "I bid… making the bed for two weeks."

Andy eyed him suspiciously. "We never make the bed."

"Well, maybe we should start."

"Fine," Andy said, glancing at her cards again. "I see making the bed and raise you taking out the trash for a month."

"Okay. I raise you… vacuuming the living room."

"For how long?" Andy asked.

"A month," he replied.

Andy nodded, "Okay." She paused for a second and then, "I call."

"Let's see 'em McNally."

Andy grinned, laying down her cards. "Now, if they're all the same suit like that and they go in order…"

"Straight flush," Sam said in disbelief.

"That's what I thought." She smiled innocently at him. "What have you got?"

"Damn it," Sam said, throwing down his cards.

Andy looked at his cards, not seeing anything. "Am I missing something?"

"I was bluffing," he admitted.

"Oh." Andy grinned. "Sucks for you. Should I buy you one of those little aprons, maybe a little French maid's outfit?"

"Ha ha. You're a shark," he accused.

Andy shrugged. "You never asked if I knew how to play."

"I don't want to play poker anymore," Sam grumped, reaching up to turn off the overhead light.

"You're such a sore loser," Andy teased, scooping up the cards. "It could be worse…" She reminded him. "If we had played strip poker you'd probably be naked right now. Not that I'd mind."

Sam just smirked at her.

Andy laughed as she put the cards back into the box and then sat back in her seat, looking out at the building in front of them. They were spending their overnight shift on a stakeout for one of the operations the detectives' office was running. So far, absolutely nothing had happened. No one had gone into the building, no one had come out of the building. They hadn't even seen a single car in the hours they had been sitting there.

"Ugh," she groaned, "Why did we agree to do this?"

"If I recall correctly, you thought it would be fun."

"Well, its not fun," Andy said, "Its really boring."

Sam nodded, "I tried to tell you that it would be."

"You didn't try very hard," she whined.

Sam just looked over at her, grinning. "You can be very persuasive when you want to be."

"Nothing is happening."

"Nothing is supposed to be happening," Sam informed her. "Just sit tight, McNally. Only a couple more hours."

Andy sighed, "Let's play another game."

"What is it with you and games?" Sam asked, rolling his eyes. "Why can't we just sit here, quietly?"

"Because it's really late and I'm going to fall asleep if you don't keep talking to me."

Sam let out a deep sigh. "Fine," he relented, "What kind of game do you want to play now?"

"Um," Andy said, "I don't know… A get to know each other game?"

"I would say we knew each other pretty well."

"There's always more we could learn."

"McNally, if you want to know something about me, just ask," Sam told her, "We don't have to play a stupid game."

"Okay."

She was quiet, trying to think of a good question. When she didn't say anything for almost a full minute, Sam looked over at her, "Well?"

"I can't think of anything to ask right now," she told him, "It's too much pressure."

"Fine by me," Sam said, folding his arms in front of his chest and leaning against his door.

"Just tell me something that I don't know about you."

"Fine." He thought for a moment. "I'm a member of PETA."

Andy knew he was lying. "Do they know about your steak habit?" She asked.

He shook his head, a small smile playing on his lips. "I've kept it pretty well hidden."

"Let's try this again," Andy said, "This time with something that's true."

"Something true?"

"Yes."

"Fine." After a brief pause he said, "Okay, I don't think I've told you this… I knew exactly who you were when you busted down that door on your first day."

"You did?" Andy asked, surprised.

"Yep. I recognized you from a picture your dad used to keep of his desk," he told her. "Your turn. You tell me something I didn't know."

"Alright, going back to the first day," Andy said, "Once I realized that crap you had in your hair was gel… I thought you were pretty hot."

Sam shot her a cocky grin, "I said something I didn't know, McNally."

Andy smirked at him as a plan formed in her mind. Fine, if he wanted to play like that. "Okay… something you didn't know about me," she mused, purposely dropping her voice half an octave, "Well, you know the night of the blackout…"

Sam raised an eyebrow, "Yes."

She glanced over at him quickly, almost shyly, before turning away and admitting, "Before we were together… I used to think about it."

"You did?"

"Yeah, a lot," she nodded, not looking at him. "I used to play it over and over in my head… I would think about the way that you kissed me, and how you picked me up…"

Sam gulped as she slid one of her hands onto his thigh. "McNally," he managed to all but croak out.

"I would try to remember what your arms felt like around me," she breathed, moving closer to him, "What you felt like pressed against me…"

Sam gave her a shaky smile, doing his best to keep it together as she ran her hand higher up his leg. "I know what you're doing McNally, as its not going to work."

"I'm not trying to do anything, Sam," she told him, whispering into his ear. "I'm just telling you that I used to run over every detail in my head… the way your strong muscles felt under my hands, how you moved against me, that little nose brush thing you did…"

"Nose brush?" He asked, his voice cracking.

"You know," Andy said, pressing her palm against his cheek. When he faced her she brushed her nose against his, just as he had done to her, "The nose brush thing."

"Oh."

She smiled at him. "Do you ever think about it, Sam?" she asked, her lips barely brushing his, "Think about what might have happened if the lights hadn't come back on."

He nodded, not trusting himself to speak.

"You know," She said, moving her hand higher on his leg. "Its awfully dark here." His eyes bulged as she traced her finger over his zipper. "And we're all alone."

Sam swallowed hard. "What are you saying, McNally," he asked, "You want to go for it in the backseat?"

She shrugged, winking at him. "No one would have to know."

Sam was silent, pretending to be considering it. A hopeful smile grew on her face before he narrowed his eyes. "I don't think so," he said, gently pushing her away from him. "Nice try though."

Andy groaned, flopping back in her seat. "Come on Sam, I am so bored."

"Oh, that's nice," Sam retorted, "You only want to have sex with me because you're bored."

Andy rolled her eyes. "Oh please, don't act so offended."

"Need I remind you that we are not horny teenagers?"

"You're right," Andy agreed, "I forgot about what an old man you are."

He narrowed his eyes at the dig. "You were the one who ten minutes ago wouldn't play strip poker with me."

"We don't have to get naked to do it, Sam," Andy told him, crossing her arms over her chest.

"Wow. I got to tell you McNally," Sam said sarcastically, "You're really selling this whole sex-in-the-backseat thing."

"Fine," she grumbled. "You'd probably enjoy it way more than I would anyway."

"Excuse me?"

"You heard me."

He knew that she was trying to goad him, that she was hoping he would feel the need to prove his… talent, but he couldn't help himself. "We'll just see about that," he said, pushing his door open. "Get out."

"Really?" She asked, her eyes widening as she scrambled to open her door. She never expected him to actually give in.

"Really," he said, taking his equipment belt off and leaving it in the seat before slamming his door closed.

She grinned at him over the top of the car, "Thank you."

Sam couldn't help but grin back as she disappeared into the car. "You're welcome," he said, climbing in on top of her. "But I swear to God, McNally, if something happens and we miss it, you're the one that's explaining to Best why we were getting frisky in the backseat."


	15. On Parties and Paisley Print Boxers

_Author's Note: Glad you all liked the last chapter… thank you so much for the reviews! I know I've said it before, but it really means so much that you take the time to let me know what you think. Hope you enjoy this chapter!_

_Disclaimer: I do not own Rookie Blue. _

**Chapter 15: On Birthday Parties and Paisley Print Boxers**

"You need to have a chat with your friend," Andy said as she climbed into the squad car. "He made my friend cry this morning."

"Am I supposed to know what you're talking about?" Sam asked, starting the car once she had her seatbelt on.

"I'm talking about Traci and Jerry," she told him. "I was in the locker room getting ready and Traci came in, already upset, and when I asked her what was wrong she told me that she and Jerry got into a big fight this morning about Dex."

"Dex is her kid?" Sam asked, pulling out onto the main road in front of the station.

"No," Andy said, shaking her head, "Leo is her son, Dex is Leo's dad. He has joint custody with Traci and they're really trying to work it out, but Jerry's being a big jerk about the whole thing."

Sam cut his eyes over to Andy, "And… what does this have to do with me?"

"You need to talk to Jerry," Andy told him, "And tell him that if he doesn't back off a little bit he's going to push Traci away."

"Push her away?"

"Yep."

Sam was silent for a moment before asking, "Why is this any of my business?"

"Because they are our friends and we want them to be happy."

"No, Jerry is my friend," Sam corrected, "Nash... I'm not so sure about."

"Okay," Andy said, rolling her eyes at his stubbornness, "Well, she's my friend and I want her to be happy. And you want me to be happy. So you want her to be happy."

Sam let out a low whistle. "That is some kind of circular logic you just used to get want you want."

"Sam…"

"Here's an idea," Sam said, "How about you just tell Nash to put Jerry on ice for a while… I hear that's supposed to solve all of your problems."

"I knew I shouldn't have told you about it," Andy muttered softly.

"No," Sam continued, on a roll, "It's really much better advice than 'Hey… why don't you go and talk to the guy and work things out?' Nope, just stick him on ice."

Andy looked over at him in disbelief. "You're still upset about that?"

"Am I still upset that you wrote my name on a post-it, stuck it in a jar of water and then froze it in an attempt to forget all about me? Yeah, Andy," Sam said, his voice raised slightly, "It still pisses me off a little bit."

"Okay, can we please not get into an argument about this again?" Andy pleaded. "You know it was just a silly, girl thing that we did one night when we were slightly drunk… it didn't mean anything."

Sam just raised an eyebrow, still clearly irritated about it, so Andy reached over and placed a hand on his leg. "Besides, it obviously didn't work…" she said with sincerity, "I could have frozen your name in the middle of the biggest glacier in Canada and there's no way I would have forgotten about you."

Andy watched as some of the tension the small argument had built up left Sam's shoulders and a small smile played on hip lips. "That was good," he told her, a softness reentering his voice.

"I thought so," she grinned.

"Andy, I don't know what you think guys talk about, but we're not women… we don't sit around discussing relationships and our feelings with each other very often."

"Oh come on," Andy said, "You and Jerry have been friends forever, you guys must have talked about relationships at some point."

Sam sighed. "Even if I were to give into this and talk to Jerry… it wouldn't do any good."

"Why not?"

"He doesn't listen to me," Sam said, shrugging, "It's very rare, but there have been a few occasions in the past when I've tried to talk to him about this kind of thing, but Jerry does what he wants to do."

"What do you mean?"

Sam cleared his throat. "You know Jerry's ex-wife? Jennifer?" Andy nodded. "He met her right after the academy. There was something about her that I didn't like from the beginning. I told Jerry not to date her, I told him not to propose to her and then I practically begged him not to marry her. You know what he did?"

It was a rhetorical question, but Andy answered anyway, "He married her."

"Yeah," Sam nodded, "And asked me to be a groomsman. He didn't listen to me then and he's not going to listen to me now."

"Can you just try, please?" She asked, peering up at him from beneath her long, dark lashes.

Sam looked over at her and then sighed heavily. "Oh put the Bambi eyes away, McNally," he said, giving in, "I'll talk to him."

"Thank you," Andy grinned, pleased.

"I can't promise it will do any good though."

"Just try," she said, "For me."

"Fine," he breathed, reaching over to take her hand. "I need you to do something for me, too."

"What's that?"

"Come with me to Sarah's this weekend?" The request was almost shy, as though he was worried she was going to say no.

"To your sister's house?" Andy asked, her eyes already widening with excitement.

Sam nodded. "Yeah, its Hannah's sixteenth birthday. She wants us to come for the party. And they want to meet you."

"Of course I'll go with you," Andy told him, smiling, "I'd love to meet your family."

"Really?"

"Yeah," Andy nodded, "Did you think I wouldn't want to go?"

Sam shrugged, "I didn't know where we were on the whole meeting the family thing."

"You've met my dad," Andy pointed out.

"True." Sam smiled, "My family is a little more… " He thought for a moment, choosing his words carefully, "Overwhelming than your dad is. My sister and nieces can be very… inquisitive. I'm sure they are going to want to know all about you and they'll probably ask a million questions."

"I think I can handle it," Andy assured him. "Plus it'll be a good opportunity for me to get some dirt on you, too."

Sam laughed, nodding, "Sarah will probably have lots of stories to tell you."

"So… " Andy asked casually, "Do all the girls you've taken up there get the fifth degree?"

He knew she really just wanted to know how often he took women up to meet his family. "I wouldn't really know," Sam said, shaking his head. "You'll be the first girl I've ever taken up there."

"Really?" Andy asked, pleased. "The first?"

"The very first," he confirmed with a nod. "Sarah's so excited she practically jumped through the phone when I agreed to ask you."

A slow smile spread across Andy's lips. "So… does that make me special or something?"

"Or something," Sam agreed with a grin, winking at her when she narrowed her eyes at him. He was quiet for a moment before telling her, "You know McNally, I've been thinking."

"Uh oh," Andy teased.

Sam chuckled, "I'm being serious."

"Should I get out my notebook…" She asked, joking, "Are you getting ready to lay some knowledge on me?"

"Can you stop being a smartass for two minutes?" Sam asked, smiling patiently.

"Fine, sorry," Andy apologized. "What were you thinking about?"

"Well, we spend most of our time together," he said, hesitating slightly, "And I'd like to think that things are going pretty well."

Andy winked at him reassuringly, "I'd say better than pretty well."

He nodded and then took a deep breath and straightened, sitting tall in his seat. "And you stay at my house pretty much all of the time."

Andy nodded, agreeing with him.

He continued, "You've taken over part of my dresser and the majority of my closet."

"Well, your basic uniform of cotton t-shirts and jeans doesn't take up that much space," Andy said defensively.

"I have other clothes you know," Sam told her. When she raised a challenging eyebrow he argued, "I even wore a suit the other night when we went to that restaurant!"

"Only because I made you." She grinned, remembering the evening. "But you did look very handsome."

"Thank you." Sam said, "Back to what I was saying. The bathroom is filled with those shampoos and lotions of yours and this morning my DVR wouldn't let me record the hockey game tonight because its filled with all those stupid girly shows you like so much."

"Oh shoot," Andy groaned, remembering, "I forgot to record Gossip Girl tonight."

"I set it for you," Sam assured her.

"Thank you sweetie," She said, smiling at his thoughtfulness as she squeezed his hand.

"You're welcome," Sam said quickly. "Anyway, as I was saying…"

"Right, sorry."

Sam continued, "Your stuff is practically taking over my house."

"Hey now," Andy interrupted him, "You have stuff at my place too."

"Like what?" He challenged, knowing full well that there was nothing of his at her place.

Andy thought for a moment. "Your academy sweatshirt and a pair of boxers."

Sam shook his head. "First of all, you stole that sweatshirt from me and second, those boxers," he raised an eyebrow,"Are not mine."

"They aren't?"

"Those ugly blue paisley print ones?" Sam asked, incredulously. Andy nodded. "Do I really look like a guy who would wear blue paisley print boxers?"

Andy thought for a moment. Sam usually wore black or gray boxer briefs. Definitely not blue paisley print boxers. "Oh…" she said quietly, remembering whose they were.

Sam tilted his head, pretending to be thinking, "Now, if they aren't mine…" he mused, "Who does look like a guy that might wear blue paisley print boxers?"

Andy grinned sheepishly. "Sorry. I must have forgotten to put them in the box."

"The box?"

Andy nodded, "The box of Luke's stuff I gave back to him when we broke up. I must have forgotten to put them in there."

"Must have," Sam agreed.

"Sorry."

Sam shrugged his shoulders, unconcerned. "Its okay. You're never at your place anyway."

"So what are you saying, Sam…" Andy asked, teasing, "You want me to move in with you or something? Make it official?"

Sam shook his head, "No smarty pants, that's not what I'm saying."

"Oh," Andy said softly, her smile falling as she sat back in her seat, disappointed.

"What I'm saying is… " Sam looked over at her and caught her gaze, "I want you to marry me."


	16. On Tours and Rings

_Author's Note: Thanks for the reviews everyone! I hope you enjoy this chapter!_

_Disclaimer: I do own Rookie Blue. Wait, no I don't. _

**Chapter 16: On Tours and Rings**

"Me?"

"You're the only other one in the car." When Andy shot him an unamused look Sam rolled his eyes, "Yes, you."

Andy hesitated, knowing she didn't want to agree to what he was asking of her but not knowing how to let him down easy. "I don't know…"

"It's a simple question," Sam said, "Yes or no." He glanced over at her, "Don't over think it."

"Sam," she started "You know that I would do just about anything for you…"

"I know," Sam said, nodding.

"But please," Andy pleaded, almost desperately, "Please don't ask me to do this. I just can't do it."

Sam shrugged. "That's fine, if you don't want to, I'm not going to make you."

"Really?" She asked, surprised at how easily he had given up. He was taking it much better than she had anticipated.

"Yeah," Sam shrugged, "I'll just ask Jerry instead. I'm sure he'd love it."

"Oh?" Andy said, raising an eyebrow, "So I'm just that easily replaceable?"

"Well, I've already paid for it so I've got to ask someone Andy, and if its not you…"

"Sam," she interrupted him, laughing. "I'm kidding, ask Jerry. He'll probably pick out a special outfit and everything."

"Alright, it's settled then," Sam said, nodding sharply. "I'll ask Jerry."

"Thank you," Andy said, relieved. "I tried liking them, I really did. I listened to that whole CD."

"I know you did," Sam grinned. "Don't worry about it."

"You sure?"

"Yeah, I mean, it's just two tickets to one of the biggest tours in the world," Sam shrugged. "Nothing special."

"The Rush is hardly one of the biggest tours in the world," Andy argued, rolling her eyes.

"Its just Rush," Sam said, distracted by a car that was tailgating them. He tapped his brakes slightly, warning the driver behind him.

"Who?" Andy asked, turning around to look behind her. "I don't think he meant to do that," she told him, "There's a huge tractor trailer behind him."

Sam nodded, watching in the rearview mirror as the driver backed off. "Its not _The Rush,_" He told her after a moment, getting back to their conversation, "It's just _Rush_. And it's _The Who_ not _Who_."

Andy shook her head, "Whatever. We okay?"

"Yeah, of course we're okay, McNally. It's not the end of the world that you have terrible taste in music."

Andy smiled, glancing down at her hand. "You know, you won't be able to call me that much longer."

"What?"

"McNally," Andy clarified, "In exactly seventeen days I'll be Andrea Swarek."

"Legally, sure," Sam said, winking at her. "But you'll always be my McNally."

Andy just smiled, twirling the ring on her finger, thinking back to the day he had proposed.

* * *

"No smarty pants, that's not what I'm saying."

"Oh," was her soft, disappointed reply.

"What I'm saying is," he hesitated for the briefest of moments, "I want you to marry me."

Andy's eyes went wide, stunned, clearly not expecting him to say that. "What?" She was finally able to ask after a moment.

Sam cleared his throat, and then, deciding it would be best not to be driving at that particular moment, pulled the squad car to the side of the road. When he had parked he looked over at her. "Well, I want to marry you McNally," Sam explained softly, a small smile tugging at his lips. "And to do that… I need to know, will you marry me?

"You…" Andy stuttered, completely caught off guard by the question. "You're proposing to me in the squad car?"

Sam grinned, his eyes flicking around the cruiser. "Well this wasn't my first choice, but it seems appropriate."

"What was your first choice?"

Sam ran his tongue over his bottom lip before shaking his head slightly and asking, "Excuse me?"

"You just said this wasn't your first choice," Andy rambled, "What was your first choice?"

Sam raised a questioning eyebrow, "Is that really important?"

"Well, yeah."

"Fine," Sam said, slightly confused as to why she wanted to know, "The first choice was dinner the other night." He paused and then grinned, "The fancy one, when I wore the suit you liked so much."

"You were going to propose then?" Andy asked, bewildered.

Sam nodded. "You weren't at all curious as to why I was taking you to one of the nicest restaurants in Toronto for no specific occasion?"

"I didn't even consider… " Andy trailed off, shaking her head. "Why didn't you?"

"It just didn't feel right," Sam shrugged, "It wasn't us."

"And the squad car is… us?"

Sam grinned. "A lot of pretty great things have happened in this squad car," he said. "I fell in love with you in this car… I first asked you out in this car… I told you I loved you in this car… We," he jerked his head towards the backseat and winked, "You know. Like I said, it seems appropriate."

Andy chewed nervously on her bottom lip, looking out at some people walking in the park. "I think we spend too much time in this car."

Sam just laughed and shrugged, "Maybe."

"Have you really thought about this Sam," Andy asked, looking over at him, "I mean, are you sure?"

"McNally," Sam said, reaching over for her hand, "If it were up to me, our first date would have been to the courthouse. I'm sure," he told her, smiling, "I've been sure. I just wanted to wait until you were ready."

"And you think I'm ready?"

Sam nodded. "Yep."

"How do you know?"

Sam smiled patiently. "Last night, you were already asleep and I was watching TV."

"The Blue Jays game," Andy remembered. "It was shut out, they were obviously going to lose. There was no reason to stay awake."

Sam cleared his throat and continued, "Some of us are not fair-weathered fans McNally." Andy just shrugged. "Anyway, you turned over from your side of the bed and kind of curled against me and I wrapped my arms around you," Andy grinned as Sam awkwardly reenacted the scene, "And you know what you said?"

"What?"

"Well," Sam said, "You were mumbling and kind of drooling…"

Andy swatted him on the chest. "I was not."

Sam grinned, "You were, a little, but that's not the point. You said, 'Don't let me go.' And I said, 'I won't.' And then you said, 'Ever.'" He shrugged, "And I knew."

Andy blinked rapidly. "You know I'm ready because of something I said in my sleep?"

Sam nodded, "I just got that feeling, Andy."

"Oh. Do you…" Andy started to ask, but then hesitated.

"Do I what?" Sam prodded.

Andy sighed, debating whether or not to ask. When Sam squeezed her hand she looked over at him. "Do you have a ring?"

Sam grinned and teased, "Are you waiting to answer until you see what kind of jewelry you get out of this?"

"No," Andy said quickly, "I was just…"

"Relax Andy," Sam said, unbuckling his seat belt and reaching into one of the pockets of his pants, "I was kidding." He pulled out a small, velvet box. "Of course I have a ring."

He flipped open the top of the box and held it out to her.

Andy's eyes went wide as she looked at the diamond ring inside and her breathing started to get get faster at the reality of the proposal. "It's beautiful."

Sam nodded, chuckling. "It'd better be."

"When did you get that?"

"Couple days after we thought you might be pregnant," he told her. "The day Jerry and I went to the Maple Leafs game."

"You didn't really go to the game?"

Sam shook his head. "Nope."

"That was over a month ago," she said.

"I know."

Andy sat up a little straighter in her seat, "You've been carrying that thing around with you for a whole month?" She asked, taken aback.

"Well, I didn't keep it on me the whole time," Sam told her. "I've been carrying it around since that dinner."

"Oh." She took the box out of his hand and inspected the solitaire diamond set in platinum. "It's beautiful," she said again.

"You already said that."

"How did you know what I wanted?" She asked, looking back and forth between the ring and him.

"I know you pretty well, McNally," Sam grinned. After a moment he confessed, "Plus I showed Nash a couple of options and she picked this one."

"Traci knew about this?" Andy asked, surprised. Traci hadn't said anything about it.

Sam nodded, "Yeah. I threatened her with desk duty if she breathed a word of it."

Andy was silent, just staring at the ring.

Sam coughed, getting her attention. "Do you have any other questions or can we get back to mine?"

Andy took a deep breath. "Just one more," she told him.

"What's that?"

She grinned. "Aren't you supposed to be down on one knee?"

Sam licked his lips and then smiled as he plucked the ring box out of her hand. "Hey…" she said, reaching for it.

"Hold on, McNally," He said, waiting until there was a clearing in traffic before he pushed his door open.

Andy watched with a grin she couldn't control as he walked in front of the car and came around to open her door. He reached over her to unbuckle her seatbelt and then pulled her out of the car. She was fine with him manhandling her as all of her muscles currently felt like jelly and her knees were knocking with anticipation.

He gently positioned her on the sidewalk before kneeling down in front of her on one knee.

"Andy," he said, holding her hand in one of his and taking a deep breath "You are my rookie, my partner, my friend, the woman that I love," he paused, getting slightly choked up, "and I would very much like you to be my wife. So…" he held out the opened ring box to her, "Andy McNally, will you marry me?"

The moment caught up with Andy and all that she could do was cry, unable to control the tears that were falling down her cheeks. After a moment she heard a lady shout, "Honey, if you don't say yes, I will!" It was only then that she noticed the small crowd of onlookers from the park that had gathered around them. She grinned through her tears and looked around at the people standing nearby, before looking back down to Sam.

He was smiling up at her, his eyes focused only on her. His warm gaze steadied her, and she found herself nodding. "Yes," she heard herself say. "Yes, of course I'll marry you Sam."

Before she knew what had happened he swept her up in his arms, lifting her off the ground. His laughter was drowned out by the applause and catcalls from the crowd around them, but she squeezed her eyes shut, blocking them out, and wrapped her arms tightly around him.

After a moment he set her back down and wiped the tears from her face with his thumb. He smiled sweetly at her before leaning in to press a kiss against her lips. She wrapped a hand around to the back of his head and pulled him towards her, deepening the kiss, which only caused the onlookers cheer louder.

Sam pulled back, slightly embarrassed at the attention, and held the ring box out to her. "Do you want your ring now?"

She nodded, holding out her hand. He slipped the ring onto her finger before kissing her softly again. "I love you," he whispered.

She grinned, "I love you too."

They stood together on the sidewalk, intertwined, until the crowd that had gathered slowly dispersed. "It's too bad you asked me while we were at work," Andy said, untangling herself from him.

He smiled, "Why's that?"

"Let's just say," She bit her bottom lip and then grinned, "You're going to get very lucky tonight."

He laughed, opening the door to the squad car. "Oh, really?"

She nodded and slid into the car. "Very."

Sam grinned, "Maybe we should both call in sick?"

She shook her head. "You made me wait a whole month," she teased, "I think you can wait a few more hours."

Sam just laughed as he shut her door. He rounded the front of the car and then opened his door, climbing in. He looked over to see Andy holding her hand up to her face, inspecting the ring. Grinning, he reached over and curled his hand around the back of her neck, pulling her towards him. She helped him, leaning over and kissing him, running her fingers through his hair. His lips were soft against hers and when he pulled back he quickly brushed his nose against hers, smiling at her.

A delighted grin spread across her face. "I guess we should tell people," she said, pulling out her phone.

Sam held up a hand. "I've got a faster way," he said. Andy watched, amused, as he flipped on the radio.

"Coppers of fifteen," he said, pressing the button, "This is Swarek. I just thought you should know… " He winked at her before continuing, "Andy McNally has agreed to marry me."

* * *

_Author's Note (2): Because I thought about this, I wanted to clarify... I'm pretty sure the radio would only go out to the uniformed officers/units, so Sam and Andy wouldn't be gloating to Luke. Just thought I'd mention it before someone told me how mean I was to rub it in Luke's face! _


	17. On Tattoos and Bikinis

_Author's Note: Hey guys! Thanks for the reviews, as always! I'm so glad you're sticking with this story. A big thanks to sloancharity for finding a good shot of Sam's tattoo. _

_Disclaimer: I do not own Rookie Blue. Nor do I know the real story behind Ben Bass' tattoo.  
_

**Chapter 17: On Tattoos and Bikinis**

"Sam," Andy sighed, "We need to talk."

Sam glanced over to see Andy looking at him with a serious expression on her face. "Don't break up with me now, McNally," he cracked with a grin, "The wedding is only two weeks away."

"I'm not breaking up with you," Andy said, shaking her head, "But this is serious."

"Do I need to pull over?" He asked, getting concerned as to what she may need to talk to him about.

"No, that's okay." She hesitated for a moment, but a raised eyebrow from Sam prodded her to continue, "I think you should get your tattoo removed."

Sam pursed his lips, "My tattoo?" She nodded. "Its just a tattoo Andy."

"Just a tattoo of another girl's initials!" Andy exclaimed.

"You jealous?" Sam grinned.

"Oh please, I'm not jealous," Andy huffed, rolling her eyes. "I just don't like being reminded of the woman who was so important to you that you got her initials tattooed on your body every time you take your shirt off."

Sam shrugged, "Well, she wasn't that important and it was a long time ago so you don't have to worry about it."

"She wasn't that important?" Andy repeated incredulously, "She wasn't that important but you got her initials tattooed on your arm?"

"Lucinda Castillo," the name rolled off Sam's tongue smoothly, "Was just a girl I met at a bar one night."

Andy eyed him warily. "Just a girl you met?"

"Are you going to repeat everything I say?" Sam asked.

"I'm just trying to imagine why Sam Swarek, who, despite his claims to the contrary, is one of the least reckless people I know, would just get some random girl's initials tattooed on his arm."

"Did I mention that we happened to get very, very drunk that night?"

"Oh wow, that makes me feel so much better." Andy said sarcastically. "Lucinda Castillo… that's probably not even her real name, she made that up."

Sam shook his head. "She was from Spain, barely spoke any English."

Andy raised an eyebrow. "And does Lucinda have your initials tattooed somewhere on her body?" The small, mischievous grin the tugged at the corners of Sam's lips was the only answer she needed. "Where?"

"I don't remember," Sam said quickly. "I was really drunk."

Andy narrowed her eyes at him. "You're lying," She accused.

"Is it really that important?" Andy shot him a look. "Lucinda was very…" he paused, considering his word choice, "blessed, I guess you could say."

"Blessed?" Andy asked. Sam held his hand out in front of his chest and gave Andy a significant look. When Andy realized what he was saying she wrinkled her nose, "Oh, are you kidding me? She has your initials tattooed on her chest?"

"I'd like to think it was because I made such a good impression on her," Sam said, looking over to her with a cocky grin. When Andy shot him an unamused look he recanted, "But it probably had more to do with the multiple tequila shots she knocked back that night."

Andy just starred at him in disbelief. He grinned at her and reached over to place his hand on her leg, "Come on Andy," he said, "It was over ten years ago and it was just one, stupid night. I haven't seen or heard from her since."

"Forgive me if the idea of you and this beautiful, buxom woman with a Spanish accent is a little hard to swallow," Andy said indignantly, crossing her arms.

"Buxom?" Sam asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Large chested," Andy clarified.

"I know what it means." Sam flicked his eyes from the road over to Andy, "McNally, she may have had a Spanish accent and she may have had a large chest, but she wasn't even half as beautiful as you are."

Andy knew what he was doing, trying to compliment his way out of the discussion, but she relented slightly, "Smooth."

"And your boobs are much nicer," he continued with a grin. "They're perfect. No one else's even compare."

Andy rolled her eyes, but smiled. "You're such a charmer."

"I'm serious." Sam winked at her. "You know Andy, if it would make you feel better…" He grinned, "You could always get my initials tattooed on your chest."

Andy just laughed, "I don't think so."

"Why not?" He questioned with mocked sincerity. "I think it would look nice. You could get 'em right here," he said, reaching up to run his fingers over the top of her breast.

Andy slapped his hand away, laughing. "Stop trying to grope me at work, Sam."

"I wasn't trying to grope you," Sam defended with a grin, "you have a bullet proof vest on. It's too much work."

Andy smiled, shaking her head. "So what does the "U" stand for?"

Sam shrugged, "I don't know, she never told me her middle name. Or if she did, I don't remember."

"It was probably something really unfortunate," Andy mused, "Like Urma or Ursa or something. No good names start with U."

Sam just nodded, placating her. "Probably," he agreed. He looked over at her, "Do you still want me to get it removed?"

"I guess not," Andy sighed. "I mean, as long as you're okay with it."

"Why would I not be okay with it?"

"Well," Andy explained, "when I wake up in the morning and see "LUC" staring at me my first thought isn't necessarily that those letters are someone's initials."

Sam narrowed his eyes, "What is your first thought?"

"If you were to just read the letters in that order…" She trailed off, "LUC becomes…"

"Luke," Sam finished for her.

She nodded, smiling innocently. "So if you're okay with him being the first thing I think of in the morning, you don't have to get it removed."

"You don't really think about him," Sam protested.

Andy shrugged, "Maybe I do, maybe I don't."

Sam regarded her from his seat, debating whether or not she was being serious. "Fine," he said after a moment, "I'll look into getting it removed."

Andy grinned, pleased. "Thank you."

"Those laser treatments are supposed to hurt like a son of a bitch though," he told her.

She just smiled and patted the hand that still rested on her leg. "I'll hold your hand. Now that we've gotten that taken care of… we need to talk about the honeymoon."

"We do?" Sam asked, flicking on the blinker to turn right. As soon as he turned onto the new street he had to slam on the brakes.

"Speaking of drunken mistakes," Andy said, watching as the man that was stumbling across the road grinned and held his beer bottle up to them. "At least he looks like a happy drunk. Not like the last guy that punched you in the stomach."

Sam smirked at her before pulling the car to the side of the road. He got out and guided the man to the sidewalk, where Andy joined them.

"Sir," Sam asked, "Are you aware that it's against the law to be drunk in public? And to be carrying around an open bottle of alcohol?"

The man's eyes widened comically, "I'm not drunk," he slurred.

Andy took the bottle from him. "This forty is almost empty. How'd that happen?"

"I must have sl… spl…" The man licked his lips before trying again, "Spilt some."

"Alright," Sam said, turning the man around. "What's your name?"

The man thought for a moment. "Bob?" He guessed shakily.

"Bob, we're going to have to take you in. You can't be walking around drunk out here on the street." Sam told him, tugging his arms behind his back. "It's dangerous, someone could have hit you."

"Oh, come on man," Bob tried to argue as Sam clicked the handcuffs on. "My girlfriend just broke up with me and I lost my job."

"I'm sorry to hear that," Sam said, steering him towards the car. "You still can't be drunk in public."

"And my dog died."

"Oh yeah?" Andy said sympathetically, "What kind of dog was it?"

Bob paused. "A big one," he said after a minute, obviously lying.

"That is sad," Sam agreed. Andy opened the back door of the squad car and Sam guided the man in with a hand on his head. "We're going to take you in and let you get sobered up, okay?"

Bob just nodded, mumbling something about the dog, and Andy shut the door.

They climbed back in the squad car and Sam pulled back onto the street, heading for the station.

"So, back to the honeymoon," Andy said.

"What about it?"

"You guys are going on a… honeymoon?" Bob asked from the backseat, sitting up. "You're getting married?"

Sam looked at him through the rearview mirror. "None of your business."

"I was going to marry Mary," Bob slurred sadly, "But she broke up with me."

Sam raised an eyebrow. "Your girlfriend's name is Mary?"

"She was my girlfriend," he told them, emphasizing the past tense.

"I'm sorry Bob." Andy told him.

"Yeah…" he mumbled, trailing off. Suddenly he snapped back to attention. "But you guys are getting married," he said with a sloppy grin, "That's great!"

Andy smiled back at him. "Thanks."

Bob sat up straighter to look between the two partners. "Wait," he said, confused, "She's marrying you?" He asked Sam. "But she's so hot and you're so… old."

Andy's eyes widened and she glanced over at Sam, trying to contain herself, but the irritated expression on his face caused her to burst into laughter.

Sam shot her a look before addressing Bob. "First, don't talk about Officer McNally like that, and second, I'm not that much older," Sam told him. "And it's still none of your business, so sit back."

Bob slumped back in the seat, sighing.

Sam watched him in the rearview mirror and then flicked his eyes over to Andy. "What about the honeymoon McNally?"

"I need to know where we're going."

"No you don't," Sam said. "I told you, it's a surprise."

Andy chewed on her bottom lip before reminding him "I hate surprises."

"I know," Sam chuckled. "That's what makes it fun. For me at least."

"I need to know where we're going so I know what to pack," She told him.

"Yeah," Bob chimed in from the back seat, "She needs to know what to pack."

"Shut up," Sam told Bob. To Andy, "I'm not telling you."

"Please," Andy pleaded, "How am I supposed to know what clothes to bring?"

Sam grinned over at her. "Who says you'll be needing clothes?"

"I'm still back here," Bob called. Sam shot him a look. "Shut up, right," Bob said, leaning back.

"Can't you just give me a little hint?" Andy asked, "Cold weather, hot weather? Parka or bikini?"

Bob sat up again. "Bikini, man, definitely bikini."

"Hey buddy," Sam said to Bob, "I'm going to tell you one more time to sit back and shut up, otherwise you'll find yourself having to pay some pretty hefty fines."

Bob groaned, sitting back. "Just trying to help you out," he muttered.

Sam sighed, looking over at Andy. She grinned at him before taking his hand, obviously amused. "I'll tell you what to pack exactly forty eight hours before the wedding," Sam told her. "But not a moment before."

"But…" she tried.

"Not a moment before, Andy." Sam said, cutting her off.

"Fine," she sighed. The three rode in silence until Andy's stomach growled, loudly.

Sam grinned over at her, "Hungry?"

"I've been starving all morning," she said, nodding. "But I already ate all the snacks I packed. It's like I can't eat enough lately."

Sam glanced around. "McDonald's okay?" He asked, pointing to the fast food place down the road.

"Mmmm…. A McChicken sandwich sounds delicious," she said, practically moaning and licking her lips, her mouth already watering at the thought.

Sam laughed at her animated response. "McDonald's it is." He pulled into the drive thru line and leaned out of the window to place their order.

The lady on intercom asked, "Will that be all, sir?" He was about to tell her it was until Andy interrupted him, tugging on his shirt, "What about Bob?"

She raised an eyebrow when Sam ignored her and told the lady the order was complete. When he settled back into his seat, Bob shot up from the back. "Hey man, what about Bob?"

"Oh, I'm sorry," Sam said smoothly. With a pointed look into the rearview mirror he explained, "I'm so old I must have forgotten all about you."


	18. On Carrots and Cake

_Author's Note: Thank you so much for the reviews! I'm sorry this one took me a little longer to get out! Its been a busy week. I hope you all enjoy it! _

_Disclaimer: I do not own Rookie Blue. _

**Chapter 18: On Carrots and Cake**

The sound of Andy crunching on something caused Sam to turn and look at her. She was leaning against her door, staring out window, obviously lost in thought.

"You got any good food over there?" Sam asked, breaking the silence.

Andy jumped at his voice and turned in her seat to face him. She blinked rapidly, surprised, but held out the plastic bag she had been eating from. "Here."

Sam looked inside at the contents and immediately wrinkled his nose. "I said good food. I don't eat carrots," he declared.

"They're _baby _carrots, Sam" Andy told him, waving the bag in front of him again. "Everyone likes baby carrots.

Sam gently pushed her hand away, shaking his head. "Nope. Not me. They look like short, chubby, little orange fingers and I won't eat them."

"I didn't know that." Andy laughed. "Any other foods-that-look-like-body-parts aversions I should know about?"

"Grapes," he said immediately.

"Grapes?" Andy asked, confused. "What do grapes look like?"

"Eyeballs." Sam told her. When she raised an eyebrow in question he explained. "When I was a teenager, I went to one of those haunted house things. It was stupid, but they had us stick our hands in a bowl of peeled grapes." Sam shuddered visibly just thinking about it. "They were supposed to be eyeballs."

"So is it just peeled grapes or all grapes?" Andy asked, chomping on another carrot.

"All grapes," Sam informed her. "Red, green, peeled, unpeeled," he grinned at her, "All grapes remind me of eyeballs."

Andy laughed and teased, "Anything else? Were you scarred by an apple in your past? Maybe a potato?"

Sam thought for a moment. "What are those green fruits that have little hairs all over them called?"

"Kiwis?"

Sam nodded, "Yeah, kiwis. I don't eat those either."

"Why not?"

He shot a look at her, as it was the most obvious thing in the world. "They have little hairs all over them Andy."

"You know," Andy said, holding up a carrot to make her point, "You're not supposed to eat the skin of the kiwi."

He shrugged. "I don't care. Fruit shouldn't be hairy. It's weird."

"I can't believe I never knew this about you," Andy said in wonder. "Anything else?"

Sam grinned over at her, shaking his head. "That's all I can think of for now McNally. I'll let you know."

Andy turned to him, "McNally?"

Sam shrugged innocently, "Tough habit to break. Besides," he said, winking at her, "I told you that you'd always be my McNally."

Andy just smiled at him before leaning over to rummage through the bag at her feet. "Okay," she reported, "We've got two sandwiches that are supposed to be for lunch, a bag of chips, some granola bars and a couple of apples. Oh, and some trail mix."

"Are we feeding a small army for lunch?"

Andy shrugged, "I was hungry."

Sam looked over from the driver's seat. He pointed to a small, plastic container. "What's that?"

"What's what?" Andy asked, looking around, playing dumb.

"That," he repeated, pointing again.

She sighed but held the container up. "Leftover wedding cake."

"Hand it over," Sam said, holding his hand out to take it from her.

Andy hesitated. "You sure? You don't want an apple?"

"Nope, I want the cake," Sam said. "It was really good."

"Its nine o'clock in the morning Sam," she said, glancing at her watch.

"So?" He asked, slightly puzzled at her reaction.

"So, "she replied, "Don't you think it's a little early for cake?"

"Is it rum cake?" He asked, still holding his hand out. When she shook her head he asked, "So… what's the problem?"

She shrugged, "It's just a lot of sugar for this early in the morning."

Sam grinned patiently at her, "Now that we're married are you going to start nagging me about everything?"

Andy rolled her eyes, "I am not nagging you."

"You are, a little."

"Well excuse me if I just want you to be healthy," Andy huffed defensively. "I was hoping we wouldn't get to the '_in sickness' _part of our vows just yet."

Sam's eyes widened slightly, caught off guard by her sudden change in mood. He knew he probably shouldn't keep provoking her, but he did anyway. "Why would you pack wedding cake if you didn't want me to eat it?"

"It's supposed to be for later," she explained, her tone still cold, "For dessert."

"Well what does it matter if I eat it now or if I eat it later?" Sam asked.

"Fine," Andy said, shoving the Tupperware into his hand. "Take the cake. See if I care."

Sam looked at the container in his hand and then over to Andy before laughing, "Are you really getting upset with me about this?"

Andy crossed her arms in front of her chest. "It's fine Sam, just eat the stupid cake."

Sam regarded Andy and then sighed, pulling the car over to the side of the road.

"What are you doing?" Andy asked, glancing around as Sam parked.

"Well, we're not going to have our first married fight in the squad car," Sam told her, unbuckling his seatbelt and turning to face her, "So I need you to tell me why you're getting so upset about this dumb cake."

"Why can't we have our first married fight in the squad car?" Andy challenged, unbuckling her own seatbelt, ignoring the second part of his statement.

Sam paused briefly, grinning at her. "Because after the first married fight comes the first married make up sex and if we fight now we'll have to wait like ten hours…"

"So this is more about you wanting sex and less about you wanting to resolve this?" Andy accused.

Sam rolled his tongue over the front of his teeth. Obviously his attempt at lightening the mood hadn't worked. "That's not what I said." Andy sat silently, staring out the window. When she wouldn't look at him, he reached over and placed a hand on her arm. "Hey," he said, shaking her gently. "What's up?"

Andy turned and looked at him for several seconds without speaking. He held her gaze and after a moment raised a questioning eyebrow. She pursed her lips but then said, "You know, a year ago you were just my training officer and I was just your rookie."

"You were never just my rookie," he told her.

She smiled slightly. "A lot has changed in a year."

He nodded. "Yeah, it has."

"It's all happened really fast."

"I know," Sam shrugged, "But I thought we agreed that we didn't want a long engagement…"

She interrupted him. "We did. I know." They had decided that since they wanted a small ceremony with only their families and close friends, there was no reason to wait.

"Well, we're married now," Sam said, laughing uncomfortably, "It's too late to take it back."

"I don't want to take it back," Andy assured, shaking her head. "That's not what I was getting at."

"Okay…" he sat quietly, waiting for her to continue.

She let out a deep breath. "I'm sorry I got upset about the cake. I really don't care if you eat it, I was just saving it."

"For what?"

She smiled at him and then shook her head, laughing, "We really do spend too much time in this squad car." He shrugged, confused as to where she was going. "I wanted to come up with some fun way to tell you," she told him, "but I guess this is more our style."

"Andy." He grinned adorably and admitted, "You're going to have to help me out. I have no idea what the hell is going on here."

She took his hand in hers and then smiled at him. "We haven't really talked about this and I don't really…"

Sam squeezed her hand, interrupting her. "Would you please just tell me, whatever it is?"

"I'm pregnant," she blurted out, hurriedly.

He was silent after the revelation, just staring at her. "Pregnant?" He asked finally, his voice barely above a whisper. She nodded. "Like pregnant, pregnant?" She nodded again.

Sam didn't say anything, just continued to look at her. She couldn't read his expression and for a moment was concerned that he wasn't excited about the news. Eventually she saw the corners of his lips begin to turn upwards and noticed that his warm brown eyes began to twinkle.

He broke into a huge grin and reached up to wrap his hand around to the back of her head, pulling her towards him. "We're going to have a baby?" He asked, his lips brushing against hers.

She nodded again, grinning this time. "Yes," she whispered. He kissed her, sweetly and tenderly, before running his hand down her body to rest over her stomach.

The way he touched her with such reverence was enough to make the tears that had welled up in her eyes spill over and run down her cheeks. He laughed softly before tracing his thumb over their path, wiping them away. "Are you sure?" He asked, kissing her again.

She nodded, "I haven't gone to the doctor yet, but I think I took about six different tests," she admitted, laughing.

"When?"

"Last night," she told him, "While you were at the Penney with Jerry and Oliver."

"Why didn't you tell me when I got home?"

"I was going to," she grinned, giving him a pointed look, "but you weren't really in the mood for _talking._"

Sam smiled guiltily when he remembered that she had greeted him at the door. He'd barely let her get a word in edgewise before he had pushed her back into the house and against the wall, claiming her lips with his own. His eyes widened when a thought occurred to him, "I didn't hurt you, did I?" He asked, pulling back slightly to run his eyes over her body, as though he might be able to see any damage he had caused.

She laughed and tangled her fingers in the short strands of his hair, "No," she told him, pulling him back towards her "not at all."

He leaned in again to kiss her. "How did you know? Have you been sick? Did I miss…"

She shook her head, interrupting him. "No, nothing like that. I noticed before we got married that I was really hungry and tired all the time, but I just chalked it up to stress from the wedding. And then my period was late but I just thought it was stress again. I figured I'd just take a test to be certain and sure enough…" she trailed off, shrugging.

"You're pregnant." Sam finished for her.

"Yep," she nodded, unable to wipe the ridiculous grin she had off of her face.

He grinned back at her. "You wore a bikini practically the entire honeymoon," he said, "How could I not have noticed?"

Andy laughed. "I'm not far enough along yet to start showing," she told him. "Our baby's about the size of a pea right now."

He raised an eyebrow. "A pea?"

Andy nodded. "I figured I'm about six weeks along, I looked it up."

He looked down at the hand that rested on her stomach. "So inside of you is a tiny little Swarek-pea."

Andy made a face. "That sounds really gross."

Sam laughed and nodded, "Yeah, it does." He smiled at her before kissing her again. "We're going to have a baby."

"We are," she confirmed.

"That's kind of crazy," he breathed.

She nodded. "It kind of is."

He pulled her as close to him as he could and pressed a kiss against her forehead. "I love you."

She smiled up at him. "I love you, too."

"And I love our baby," he told her, spreading his fingers out over her abdomen.

"Already?"

He nodded. "Already."

"Me too," she whispered. They stayed huddled together, enjoying the moment and each other until Andy whispered, "We should probably get going."

Sam smiled and kissed her one last time before sitting back in his seat. "You know," he said, pulling his seatbelt across his body, "We really need to work on our timing."

Andy furrowed her brow, "Well, I mean I know we weren't expecting it but we weren't exactly being careful…"

Sam interrupted her, "No, that's not what I meant."

"What did you mean?" She asked.

"We keep having the huge, life altering moments at the beginning of the work day," he told her, grinning. "All I want to do is take you home but we have to work for eight more hours."

She laughed and buckled her seatbelt as Sam started the car. "It's tough, I know."

Sam pulled the car back out onto the road and then reached for her hand. "Andy, sweetheart?" He asked cautiously.

"Yes?"

"Can I have my cake now?"


	19. On Beginnings and Endings

_Author's Note: Guys, I am very sad to say that this story is coming to an end. This is the last chapter of Conversations in the Car. I am working on an epilogue that will be out later this week. I have loved writing this so so much… It may sound weird but I have fallen in love with these characters and their story. Thank you so much for reading and reviewing. It was always so encouraging to hear that you were enjoying the story. Thank you! _

_Someone asked about the commentary that I talked about in the first chapter. Its on ABCs website. You have to go to the Rookie Blue page and then to "Full Episodes" and select the commentary option. I'm not sure how many are left up there, but I know that the incredible Whitters has transcribed most of them so if you can see them I would ask her about it. _

_Disclaimer: I do no own Rookie Blue. _

**Chapter 19: On Beginnings and Endings **

Sam and Andy walked slowly out to the squad car, hand in hand. Andy was quiet, her eyes downcast, watching their feet as they moved along.

Sam coughed, getting her attention. When she looked over at him he spoke softly, "I was thinking that you should drive today."

Andy wrinkled her nose and shook her head. "That's okay," she said.

"You sure?" Sam asked. "An offer like that doesn't come around everyday. You should take advantage of it."

"Yeah, I'm sure," she nodded. With a slight grin she added, "You always get irritated with me when I drive and I'd rather not spend our last day arguing."

Sam winced slightly. He knew that even though she was teasing there was truth to her words. "Sorry," he muttered, opening the back door of the cruiser and throwing their bag in.

Andy shrugged, "It's fine. Besides," she added lightly, "I don't mind watching you drive."

Sam rested both his hands on the top of the car. "You don't?"

Andy shrugged, "It's kinda hot." She winked at him and then slipped into the car. Sam just laughed and shook his head, sliding into the car as well.

"What have we got planned today?" Andy asked, pulling her seatbelt across her body and over the slight bump of her abdomen.

Sam started the car and looked over at her, "Hopefully nothing like yesterday," he said. "I'd rather not have to take you and shrimpy to the hospital again."

They had been the first officers on the scene of an attempted car jacking and as Andy was arresting one of the suspects he had gotten aggressive and shoved her to the ground. Thankfully back up had arrived just in time and the man wasn't able to get away but Andy had doubled over and started cramping. Sam had insisted on taking her to the hospital and even though both she and the baby were fine, the experience scared both of them.

After finding out that Andy was pregnant they had briefly talked about her going on desk duty, but hadn't final made a decision about it. The previous day had been the tipping point for the couple; after discussing different options with Best they decided that Andy would finish up the week with Sam and then start at the desk the following shift.

"Shrimpy?" Andy repeated, amused.

Sam nodded. "At thirteen weeks the baby is about the size of a medium shrimp," he informed her, glancing over taking in her surprised look. "What?" He defended, "I read things."

"I didn't say anything," Andy said, holding up her hands in innocence. "Shrimpy, huh?"

"For now. Next week it'll be something different, like a jumbo shrimp." Sam said, reaching across the car to take her hand. As she linked her fingers through his, Andy unconsciously chewed on her bottom lip and looked over at him.

Truth be told, she thought it was absolutely adorable that he was taking so much interest in the pregnancy. Every other day he was either coming home with something new , a habit she was trying to put a stop to, or telling her about something that he had read. Some new information he had learned all on his own.

Sam flicked his dark brown eyes over to meet hers and winked for no particular reason. Yes, Sam being so sweet about the baby was adorable, Andy thought.

Adorable and dead sexy.

Andy had always known that her husband was a handsome man. Even before they had gotten together there was always something about him that she couldn't deny she found attractive, but lately every little look that he gave her and every time he touched her just drove her crazy. It was like she couldn't get enough of him.

Sam certainly hadn't been complaining about it. They had always had a very healthy sex life, but in past month it had been kicked into overdrive. Of course, that was only after both she and her doctor had assured Sam that he wasn't going to hurt her or the baby.

Sam glanced over at her and immediately recognized the hungry look in her eye.

"Stop looking at me like that," Sam said, interrupting her thoughts.

"Like what?" She asked innocently.

"Like you're trying to figure out how to jump me."

"Oh Sam," she said saucily, raising an eyebrow, "I think I know _how _to jump you."

Sam chuckled, "Andy…"

Andy grinned, releasing his hand to move hers over to his leg. "Don't you want to find an abandoned parking lot somewhere? Maybe a dark alley way?"

"Yeah, that's exactly what I want to do," Sam responded, sarcastically but with a hint of teasing, "Make love to my wife who is pregnant with my child in a dark, gross alley way that probably smells like urine."

Andy laughed and rolled her eyes. "Prude," she chided, running her hand higher up his leg.

Sam caught her hand and looked over at her. "Behave," he warned with a grin.

"Oh come on Sam, its our last day riding together for a while. Don't you wanna go out with…" she paused, licking her lips, "A bang?"

Sam's jaw hung open and Andy couldn't help but laugh at the shock that registered on his face. He quickly tamed his expression and then smirked at her. "McNally, cut it out," he told her, not unkindly. "You know we can't."

"Fine, you're right," she relented. "But you're going to regret that we only had sex in this car once," Andy told him. "I'm sure your next partner won't be quite as willing as I am."

"Don't you mean horny?" Sam asked, earning him a slap on the arm.

"Hey," Andy said, defending herself, "It's the pregnancy hormones."

Sam grinned and took her hand in his once more. "Sure it is sweetie," he conceded, "Sure it is. And my next partner is Dov Epstein," he told her, shuddering, "So let's refrain from ever saying anything like that again."

The day went by smoothly and quietly. Best had asked them to go and talk to some of the witnesses from the carjacking, which took up most of the morning, and they had issued a couple of tickets for expired registrations.

Later in the afternoon a call came in about a possible bank robbery on Addison Avenue. "A bank robbery?" Andy asked skeptically, flipping on the lights and sirens, "An actual, honest to goodness, bank robbery?"

Sam shrugged, "Happens a few times a year. Amateurs, mostly, wanting drug money. They hit small banks without much security, pass a note to the tell…" Sam's explanation was cut off when his phone rang. He flipped it open to answer and Andy could only hear his side of the conversation. "Hey, yeah… yeah… really? Huh. McNally and I will head over there now."

"What's going on?" She asked as he flipped the phone closed.

"That was Jerry," he said, making a sharp right turn. "They ran the plates on the getaway car and it belongs to a twenty nine year old woman named Patricia Harvey. Apparently she said something about needing to pick her kids up to the teller, so Jerry wants us to go over to the elementary school and see if they're still there."

"Wow." Andy said, mildly impressed. "Talk about multi-tasking. Rob a bank, check. Pick up the kids, check."

Sam snorted. "I don't think she's going to win a mother of the year award anytime soon."

"It's kind of sad," Andy mused. "She was obviously desperate if she thought the only way to get money was to rob a bank."

"It's not sad," Sam told her, "If you need money you get a job, you don't rob a bank."

"I know," Andy shrugged, "I'm just saying, people will do anything for their kids."

Sam raised an eyebrow at her but remained silent. "What?" She asked.

"Over a year on the job and you still look for the good in everyone," Sam said, shaking his head.

Andy narrowed her eyes at him. "Not everyone is as hardened as you are, Sam."

Sam shrugged, knowing she was telling the truth. "I didn't say it was a bad thing McNally."

The conversation ended as he pulled into the elementary school. Save for a couple of students sitting on a long bench, the parking lot was empty. Sam turned off the lights and sirens and, seeing a woman who looked to be in charge, drove over to her.

He put the car in park and rolled his window down, holding out his badge. "Ma'am," he said, motioning the lady over. "Do you know a Patricia Harvey?"

The lady put her hand on her forehead to block the sun and squinted into the car, looking at the two officers. "I know her kids, Katie and Tyler. Why?"

"Did she pick them up today?" Andy asked.

"Yeah," she said, looking at her watch, "About fifteen minutes ago. Is everything okay?"

Sam nodded, "Thank you for your help." He rolled his window back up and pulled out of the school. Flipping his phone open again, he called Jerry and told him what they found out.

"Okay," Sam said after he hung up, "Jerry says he sent Shaw and Peck over to the Harvey's house so he wants us to head over there." He punched in the address and began following the directions to her house.

"Fine," Andy said, leaning back in her seat.

Sam had known her long enough to know by her tone that everything was not _fine. _"What's wrong?" he sighed, glancing over at her.

"Nothing," she clipped.

"Okay," he accepted, knowing it would irritate her that he didn't keep trying.

After a brief moment of tense silence Andy spoke, "I'm not naïve, you know."

"I didn't say that you were," Sam said, staying focused on the road.

"But that's what you think," she accused.

"No, it's not." Sam shook his head. "I think its good you still try and see the good in people, no matter how badly they screw up." He finally looked over at her, smiling slightly, "How else would you put up with me?"

His attempt at a joke diffused some of the tension in the car and Andy couldn't help the small smile that tugged at her lips. "Well that's true," she admitted.

"And I'm just a jerk," Sam continued with a grin, "If we were both jerks, this wouldn't work."

"You're not a jerk," She told him, "At least not all of the time."

Sam looked over at her and quickly winked before turning onto the road Patricia Harvey lived on. "I guess she came home," Andy said, observing the multiple squad cars that were parked in front of the house with their lights flashing.

Sam nodded, getting as close to the house as he could and parking on the side of the road. "Yep." About that time the call came in over the radio that the suspect had been apprehended at her home. "Good to know," Sam said, unbuckling his seatbelt.

They both exited the car and walked up the driveway just in time to see Officer Shaw guiding a handcuffed lady into the back of his squad car.

"Aw, the Swareks," Shaw said when he saw the two of them walk up, "So nice of you to join us."

"Better late than never," Sam retorted. "Looks like you've got things under control."

Shaw nodded, "We were here when she came home. Her kids were eating ice cream in the back of the car," he told them, shaking his head.

"Where are they now?" Andy asked.

"Inside, waiting with an officer until children's services gets here." Shaw tilted his head over to another one of the squad cars. "She gave it up pretty easily. It was her and that kid over there, a nineteen year old. He was driving the getaway car. We've got security images of both of them, so it shouldn't be too hard."

"How much money did they have on them?" Sam asked.

"First count was about two thousand," Shaw told him. "But the bank reported it to be about thirty five hundred, so we're still looking.

Sam nodded, looking between the cars. "You need us here?"

Shaw shook his head. "Not unless you want to talk to Miss Harvey," he grinned, "Maybe she could give you some parenting advice."

"You're hilarious," Sam deadpanned.

"I kid because I love," Shaw told them, slapping Sam on the arm as he moved passed them towards the house. "But seriously, I think we're good."

Sam nodded and turned away, guiding Andy with a hand on the small of her back. "I'm going to call Best, but I don't think they need us here," he said, flipping his phone open. When Best confirmed that they could leave, they headed back to the squad car.

"It's already getting late," Andy said as she climbed in. "We should probably get back to the station."

Sam nodded and they made the quick trip back to the station in silence. He pulled the squad car back into the parking lot and quietly turned the key, shutting the ignition off.

He looked over at her and she looked at him. One side of her mouth curved into a slight, sad smile. "I guess this is it," she said, her voice hoarse with unexpected emotion.

Sam nodded. "I guess it is." He moved to get out of the car but Andy placed her hand on his arm, stopping him.

"Can we just sit here for a minute?" She asked softly.

"Of course," Sam said.

They sat in complete silence for a moment, both lost in their own thoughts until Andy laughed lightly. "It's not like we won't still see each other everyday," she said, more to convince herself than him.

"We do live in the same house," he reminded her with a slow, understanding smile. "And sleep in the same bed."

"Yeah," she sighed. She looked away from Sam and surveyed the station in front of them. "It's just not the same, you know?"

"I know, McNally."

"I'm going to be in there," Andy waved her hand to the building in front of them, "And you're going to be out here."

"With Epstein." Sam said, raising an eyebrow.

"With Epstein," Andy repeated. "He's a good cop."

"I know. He's just not as pretty to look at as you are," Sam joked.

"Don't tell him that, " Andy said, laughing softly.

"I think he probably knows."

Andy sighed. "Did you ever think we'd be here?"

"Here?"

"Married? Pregnant?"

"Of course I did," Sam said a smug grin. "I knew it all along."

"Really?" Andy asked skeptically. Sam nodded. "Do you remember what you said to me the first day we worked together?"

"I'm sure it was incredibly charming."

Andy fixed him with a look. "You told me that you weren't my boyfriend, you weren't going to hold my hand and that I wasn't your type."

Sam shrugged, "See? Charming." He grinned, "You fell madly in love."

"Oh please," Andy said, rolling her eyes.

"You were the one that said you didn't date cops," Sam reminded her.

Andy smiled at him. "I guess we were both wrong."

"I guess so, McNally." He hesitated for a second and then cleared his throat. "I'm sorry you have to be the one to go on desk duty, I wish there was some way I could do it for you."

Andy just laughed and reached over, cupping his cheek in her hand. "Liar," she accused lightly. "You would go crazy."

Sam grinned. "You're probably right." He leaned in to kiss her, "But I am sorry. I know it's not fair. You didn't become a police officer to sit behind a desk."

"No, I didn't," she admitted. "But it's just temporary. And we're getting a baby out of the deal, so… I guess it's worth it," she finished with a smile.

"Yeah, it is." He paused for a moment. "You ready?" he asked, tilting he head towards the station. "We've still got some paperwork to fill out before we can go home."

"Yeah," Andy nodded. "I'm ready."

"Andy," Sam said, grabbing her arm, "I want you to know…" he trailed off when a lump rose in his throat.

"What?" She asked, her eyes already brimming with tears and her bottom lip quivering.

He laughed and reached up to wipe them away. "Please don't cry," he begged her.

She laughed pitifully and shook her head, looking down. "I can't help it. We've spent so much time together in this car, I'm sad that it's over."

"I know," Sam said, playing with a strand of her hair.

She took a resolute breath and then looked back up to him. "What were you going to say?"

Sam sighed and drew her towards him, placing a tender kiss on her lips. He pulled away and held her gaze as he told her, "I couldn't have asked for a better partner." He leaned in, kissing her once more. "It has been an honor and a privilege riding with you McNally."

At his words she fell apart, sobbing into her hands. "Oh Andy," he laughed lightly, pulling her towards him. "It's going to be okay."

She ran her hands under his vest and clutched the material of his shirt, crying into his shoulder. "I know it is," she choked out between sobs.

He ran his hand up and down her back, letting her cry. She was finally able to pull it together and sat back, wiping her fingers beneath her eyes. "I'm sorry," she said.

"Don't be," he grinned at her, "I'd cry too if I wasn't going to be my partner anymore."

Andy laughed and slapped him on the arm. "You're so full of it."

"You love me," he protested.

"I do," Andy said. Taking a deep breath she asked, "You ready?"

He nodded, "I'm ready."

This time they both let the other get out. Sam grabbed their bag from the backseat and then met Andy at the front of car. He wrapped his arm around her shoulders and tugged her close to his side as they walked back towards the station. "Hey McNally?" he asked.

"What?"

He grinned down at her. "Do you think Epstein will be as good at paperwork as you are?"

* * *

_The end! _

_In case you were wondering, the bank robbery story is based off of a recent story that was in the news. Google "Mom robs bank and picks up kids" to read all about it._

_Again, thank you so much for reading! _


	20. Epilogue

The moon was already high in the sky when Sam finally made it home. "Andy?" he called, stepping into the house and closing the door behind him. The first floor was dark and silent and each step Sam took echoed through the rooms. He made it to the staircase and bounded up them, two at a time. "Sweetie?"

"I'm in here," he heard her call from the direction of their bedroom.

Sam smiled as he pushed open the door, expecting to see his wife perched on the bed. He was surprised to find the room empty but the light coming from beneath the door to the bathroom gave away her location.

He crossed the floor and gently pushed the door open. The room was lit with candles, their flickering light reflected in the mirror. She was in there, lounging in the claw foot tub he had installed just for her. Her hair was piled on top of her head which was resting on the back of the tub, cushioned by a towel, and the layer of bubbles that floated on top of the water covered the rest of her body.

Make that, they covered most of her body. Her round belly protruded from the bubbles. Sam grinned to himself when he thought that it looked like one of those pictures where the top of the mountain rose above the fluffy white clouds.

He followed the line of her body until he saw the smooth skin of her legs again, her feet braced against the other end of the tub. Before Andy had gotten pregnant he'd never understood when he heard people say that pregnancy was beautiful. Pregnant women were just that, pregnant. There was nothing particularly special about them. If he was completely honest, the whole thing freaked him out a little.

But now that it was his wife that was pregnant… he got it.

Andy was beautiful. She glowed, even more than normal. Her curves, which had always taken his breath away, had become fuller and her body had a softness about it that it hadn't had before. There was something incredibly sexy about the fact that she was carrying his child.

His quiet perusal of her body was interrupted when she spoke. "Are you going to just stand there staring at me?" She asked, not bothering to open her eyes.

Sam chuckled. "I was just admiring the view."

"It's kind of like SeaWorld, huh?" she said, running her hands over her stomach. "I feel like Shamu."

He crossed his arms in front of his chest and leaned against the doorframe. "Well you look beautiful."

Andy finally opened her eyes and looked over to him, smiling. "Compliments will get you everywhere."

"That's what I was counting on," he replied, winking at her.

She laughed softly, shaking her head. "You can come in, you know."

"Yeah?" He asked, pushing away from the door. "Can I join you in there?"

Andy eyed him skeptically. "Did you shower at the station?"

"Why does that matter?"

"I don't want you to get my bath water dirty."

Sam smiled. "Of course I did."

"Do you think we'll fit?"

"Are you calling me fat?" Sam asked, reaching around to his back to grasp the material of his shirt, pulling it over his head.

She laughed and made a point of running her eyes over her husband's still well defined abdomen. "Yeah, you're the one that looks like you're trying to smuggle a bowling ball under your shirt wherever you go."

Sam grinned and patted his stomach, "It's called sympathy weight McNally, it's a real thing."

Andy rolled her eyes at the ridiculous assertion. "Would you shut up and get in here with me?"

"So bossy," Sam chided, pulling his belt free from his jeans. He winked at her as he unzipped his jeans and pushed them and his boxers to the floor. Andy let out a low whistle of appreciation as he kicked the garments off.

Sam just grinned and motioned for her to scoot forward. She did as he asked and he stepped into the tub, inhaling sharply. "How long have you been in here?" He asked, sliding in behind her. "The water is freezing."

"It's not freezing, it's just not hot. I'm not allowed to take hot baths anymore," Andy told him, leaning back against his chest once he got situated. "If you were as swollen as I am this would feel like heaven."

"I can guarantee you that swelling isn't my problem right now," Sam told her, pulling his knees up on either side of her body. He ran his hands over her shoulders and down her arms, settling them over her stomach. "Hey," he whispered, kissing the crook of her neck.

She turned her head to the side to face him. "Hey yourself," she whispered back, pressing her lips against his. "How was your day?"

He shrugged. "It was fine."

"Sam," Andy said, trailing her fingers over his knees, "That wasn't a 'please lie to me so I won't be so miserable on desk duty' request. It was a 'please tell me the truth so I can live vicariously through you' request."

Sam kissed her cheek quickly, "You'd think I could tell the difference by now."

"You would think," she mused. "So how was it, really?"

"It was good. Epstein and I are working with Boyd on that high school drug ring op. We did some surveillance work today."

"Oh yeah," Andy said, leaning her head back against Sam's shoulder, "Dov mentioned something about that. Is he getting to be the buyer?"

Sam nodded, "Yep. It works out well that he looks like a twelve year old. We were just ironing out some of the details tonight. That's why I was late."

"I figured." Andy shrugged, unconcerned, "Traci gave me a ride home."

"I got your message," he said. "You can take the truck next time if you want. I can always get Shaw to give me a ride."

"I thought I was banned from driving the truck?" Andy said cautiously. She had accidently backed the truck into their garbage can the last time she had driven it. There were no scratches or dents, but he hadn't been happy about it.

Sam coughed and cleared his throat, "I may have overreacted slightly." Andy just "hmmed" as he placed small kisses along her collarbone, "Forgive me?" he whispered.

"Maybe," she purred, tilting her head to one side to give him better access to her neck. "Only if you'll rub my feet later."

"I can probably do that," he assured.

Andy relaxed against Sam, enjoying the feel of his hands trailing over her body. "Your son has been very active today," she told him.

"Oh yeah?" Sam asked, grinning.

"Yeah, he really likes using my kidney as a football," she said as she pulled his hand up and placed it over the right side of her stomach. "Here, you'll be able to feel him kick in just a second."

She was right. After a moment, Sam felt a tiny push against his hand. "Hey buddy," he said, pushing back on her stomach, earning another swift kick. Andy inhaled sharply. "Does that hurt?" Sam asked.

"It's not that it hurts," she said, shaking her head, "It's just a lot of pressure."

Sam laughed when he saw a small part of her stomach poke up. "What's he doing?"

"I think he's stretching," Andy said, pushing gently against the protrusion. "Sometimes he pushes right into my ribs."

Sam smiled, covering her hand with his own. "Are we ever going to decide on a name?"

"I've already told you what I want," she said resolutely.

"No," Sam told her, shaking his head.

"Why not?" Andy challenged.

"I hated my name growing up," Sam told her, "I don't want to burden my kid with the same one."

Andy sighed. "I like your name."

"We'll think of something better," Sam assured her, "We've still got time."

"Not that much," Andy reminded him, "I'm thirty six weeks today."

"I know," Sam said.

The couple relaxed, sometimes talking and sometimes just enjoying the quiet and being together. Sam noticed that Andy's head began to loll against his shoulder, and every once and awhile she would jerk awake again. He wrapped his arms around her and allowed her to doze off until the coolness of the water became too much for him and he shivered. Shaking Andy gently he asked, "Can we get out of here?"

"Yeah," Andy said sleepily, "You're going to have to help me out though, I don't think I can move."

Sam smiled and kissed her shoulder. "Wait here," he said, pushing himself up and out of the tub. He grabbed two towels from the linen closet and hurriedly dried himself off with one before wrapping it tightly around his waist.

He came back to Andy, bending over to hold her securely beneath the arms and help her out of the tub. She stepped out onto the bathmat faltered slightly, off balanced, before steadying herself with one hand against the wall.

Sam grabbed the towel he had gotten for her and began to run it over her arms. "I can dry myself off," she said.

"I know," he nodded, smiling. "But I want to."

She returned his smile as he dried off her other arm and began moving down her body. He dried her back with long, even strokes before moving around to her front and spending more time than necessary patting the soft material against her breasts.

Andy rolled her eyes and indulged him for a moment before giggling and pushing his hands away. "Sam, I think they're dry."

"I should probably check," he murmured. Andy's giggles turned to soft moans as he dipped his head down and pressed his lips against the supple skin. Her breath became shallow and jagged as he explored the area, swirling his tongue in tiny circles over her sensitive skin before skimming soft kisses across the pebbled flesh. She tangled her free hand through the soft strands of his hair and closed her eyes as he bit down gently, eliciting a whimper from her lips.

Abruptly he stopped and pulled back to wink at her, "Yep, they're dry."

She narrowed her eyes at him and fought the urge to slap him upside the head. "That was mean," she told him, dropping her hand back down to her side.

"No it wasn't," he laughed, running the towel over her belly. He knelt down to dry off her legs and she held on to his shoulder, steadying herself as he trailed his lips after the towel. He gently lifted each delicate foot into his hand as he dried them off. When he was satisfied that he was done he stood back up and wrapped the towel around her torso, securing it between her breasts.

Sam stepped as close to her as he could get, grinning as he bumped into her swollen belly. He bent over it and pressed a kiss against her lips before asking, "Ready for that foot rub?"

The next day Sam and Dov were riding together along their normal route, on a break from the surveillance work they had been doing for most of the week. "Sir?" Dov asked, getting Sam's attention.

"You don't have to call me sir," Sam told him, bored. "I've told you this."

"I know," Dov said. "It's just a habit."

Sam shrugged, "What do you want?"

"Well, I was just wondering, since we've been doing this operation with Boyd, and it's a pretty big deal and I'd like to think I've done a pretty good job so far…"

"Spit it out Epstein."

Dov sat up straight in his seat, hesitating slightly before asking, "Do you think I could handle undercover work? Like, long term?"

To his credit, Sam didn't laugh or even crack a smile at the thought. "Why are you asking me?"

"Well," Dov said, "You were undercover for eight months, you know what it takes."

Sam thought for a moment, nodding slightly as he considered the question. "Well," he said, "You've done a good job so far, but we haven't run the actual op yet. I'd wait until you see how you do to think about it long term."

"Yeah." He paused for a moment, "What's it like?"

"Being undercover?" Dov nodded. Sam sighed, "It sucks most of the time, long periods of boredom punctuated by a few moments of excitement and sheer terror."

"That sounds awesome," Dov said, completely serious.

Sam chuckled, "It is awesome, for a little while. You got a girlfriend?"

"I _had _one," Dov told him, "but not anymore."

"If you're interested in UC, that's probably good," Sam said, looking in the rearview mirror before changing lanes. "Relationships have a way of making things messy."

Dov snorted. "Just imagine what a baby's going to do to things." His eyes widened when he realized he had said that out loud. "I mean, I'm sure you and Andy are going to be able to handle it just fine, you're both mature, and stable, and, and… married, and it's going to be great…" Dov rambled on, concerned about what the superior officer was going to say about the slip.

Sam just raised an eyebrow. "You done?"

Dov nodded swallowed hard. "Yes sir."

"I'm not working UC anymore, so I think we're going to be fine."

"I totally agree, Sir, you're going to be better than fine."

"And, for what its worth Epstein, I wouldn't suggest running out an impregnating a girl right now," Sam told him, eyes focused on the road ahead, "But when the time does come and you're with the right person, it'll be the best thing you've ever done."

"That's…" Dov trailed off, shaking his head slightly.

"What?"

"I just never pictured you of all people saying that," Dov said, "Sir."

Sam grunted, "Don't tell anyone."

"I won't." Dov promised. "So you think I could handle it? Undercover, I mean. Not a baby."

"Like you said, you've done a good job…" Sam's answer was cut off when Dov's phone rang.

"This is Epstein," Dov answered.

"Dov?" It was Traci and Dov could immediately sense the urgency in her voice.

"Yeah?"

"Are you with Sam?"

Dov's eyes cut over to his partner, "Yes."

"Okay," Traci sighed, "Keep your reaction to what I'm about to tell you neutral, okay?"

"Okay," Dov said evenly, "What's up?"

"You've got to get Sam to Memorial, now." Traci told him, "Andy's water broke. She's going into labor."

Dov could tell by her tone that it wasn't a good thing his friend had gone into labor so early. He could feel his pulse begin to race and he fought to keep his voice steady, "What happened?"

"I wasn't in there so I don't know exactly what happened, but Andy was in booking when Noelle brought some guy in that was tripping on crystal meth. Apparently he saw Andy and yelled something about his pregnant wife before he…" Traci took a deep breath, "before he went after her. She tried to get out of the way and Chris was able to get a hold of the guy, but I guess she got shoved against the counter which caused her water to break."

"Okay," Dov said slowly, processing what she was telling him. There were so many questions that he wanted to ask, but he didn't think he could without raising suspicion from Sam.

"I'm following the ambulance now and we're almost at the hospital. Andy's doing okay. She told me to call Sam but I thought it'd be better if someone told him in person," Traci said, "And kept him calm."

Dov looked over at Sam who was eyeing him warily, obviously wondering who he was talking to. "I can do that."

"Just get him here as soon as you can," Traci said before hanging up.

"Bye," Dov said as the line went dead.

"What was that?" Sam asked, his normally bored tone tweaked with curiosity.

Dov took a deep breath and flipped his phone closed. "Sir, I need you to pull over."

Sam raised an eyebrow at him. "Excuse me?"

"I need you to pull over," Dov repeated, "And let me drive."

"Is something wrong?" Sam asked, a quiet panic entering his voice. "Is something wrong with Andy?"

Dov's determination faltered slightly but he caught himself and stayed resolute. "I will tell you what's going on but right now you have to trust me and pull over. I'm not going to tell you while you are driving."

Dov saw the way that Sam's jaw tightened and his eyes narrowed slightly. Thankfully, he pulled to the side of the road without another argument. "What's going on?" He asked.

"Okay," Dov said, "I need you to stay calm."

"Epstein you better tell me what the hell is going on _right now_," Sam practically seethed.

"Give me the keys," Dov told him, holding his hand out.

Sam turned the ignition off and handed the keys to Dov, clearly on the verge of flipping out.

"Okay," Dov said, unbuckling his seatbelt. "Andy's on her way to the hospital. Her water broke."

Sam shook his head. "No, its too early, she's only thirty six weeks."

Dov nodded, "I know that Sir. But she got shoved into a counter…"

"What?" Sam asked, his eyes flashing with anger. "How did that happen?"

"I'll explain everything," Dov said, pushing his door open, "But we really need to get to the hospital."

Sam was out of his seat and around the car in record time. "Tell me what happened," he demanded, pulling the seatbelt across his body.

Dov started the car and pulled out onto the street, flipping the siren and lights on in the process. "Traci said that Noelle brought a guy in that was tripping on meth. He saw Andy in booking and started yelling something and went after her. Chris got a hold of him but in the process Andy was shoved into the desk."

"Why was she in booking?" Sam asked.

"I don't know," Dov said, "But she's in an ambulance on the way to Memorial right now. We're close, we may even beat them there."

"Is Andy okay?" Sam asked, his voice softening at his wife's name.

"Traci said she was doing fine," Dov assured him.

Sam just nodded slightly and then settled back into his seat. "Its too early," he repeated. He knew the risks of having a preterm baby, he had read all about them. .

"Sam," Dov said cautiously, unused to using the other man's first name, "It's going to be okay. We're almost there."

They made the rest of the trip in anxious silence. Dov turned into the parking lot of the emergency department and they both saw an ambulance pulling up to the entrance, followed by a squad car. "That's Traci," Dov told Sam, "So Andy must be in the ambulance."

Dov pulled in behind Traci's car and Sam jumped out, running over to where they were unloading Andy.

"Andy!" He yelled, his stomach dropping at the site of his wife on the gurney, pale and scared.

Andy's head snapped up when she heard his voice. "Sam," she cried, "I'm so sorry, I tried to get out of the way…"

"Oh sweetie," he said, pressing a kiss against her forehead and taking hold of her hand, "I know, it's okay, it's not your fault."

He ran alongside of the gurney as they moved Andy inside. They were immediately sent to labor and delivery where they were met by a nurse and ushered into a room. "Hi Andy. My name is Rebecca and I'll be one of your nurses today. We're just going to do a quick assessment," the nurse told them as Andy was transferred to the bed, "Before the doctor comes in and checks you out, okay?"

Andy just nodded, overwhelmed by how quickly everything was progressing. The room was abuzz with activity, with nurses scurrying around, helping Andy into her hospital gown and hooking her up to the fetal heart rate monitors. "I can't be going into labor, its too early," she told Sam, still gripping his hand.

"Do you know if you're having a girl or a boy?" Rebecca asked in a calming voice.

"A boy," Andy replied.

"And how far along are you?"

Sam answered for Andy, "Thirty-six weeks. Is the baby going to be okay?"

"There are some risks for a preterm baby," Rebecca told them honestly, "But we're going to take good care of him. Let's just worry about getting him out safely now, okay?" Andy nodded. "Did your contractions start right away?"

Andy shook her head, "They didn't start until I was in the ambulance."

"And how far apart are they?"

"About five minutes, I guess," Andy said. "I… I'm not sure."

"Its okay," Rebecca assured, "The doctor will probably order a medication called Pitocin, which will help things progress right along. Since your water already broke we're going to try to get him out as soon as we can."

"Okay."

"I'm just going to go call your doctor now. Here's your call light," Rebecca said, handing it to her, "I'll only be gone a couple of minutes but call me if you need anything."

Andy nodded, and Rebecca left them alone in the room. "Where are Dov and Traci?" Andy asked, getting comfortable in the bed.

"I'm sure they're in the waiting room," Sam told her, holding her arm to support her. "I'll go find them in a little while."

Andy sucked in a sharp breath and squeezed her eyes closed, "Is it a contraction?" Sam asked, running his hand over her back. She nodded, unable to speak until it passed. Sam felt helpless watching her in obvious pain, but there was nothing he could do.

She exhaled deeply before turning to Sam. "Sam," she said, panicking, "We don't have anything ready for the baby… we don't have his nursery ready, we don't even have a name picked out!"

"It's going to be okay," Sam told her reassuringly, "We'll worry about all of that later."

It wasn't long before Andy's doctor came in and, just as Rebecca had predicted, started her on Pitocin. "The baby is in a good position for delivery," he told them after examining her, "but he's stressed and his heart rate is a little higher than we'd like, so we need to get him out soon or we're going to have to do a c-section."

"Is she going to be able to have an epidural?" Sam asked, looking between Andy and the doctor.

"Unfortunately, no," the doctor said, shaking his head, "The good news is that Andy has dilated rapidly, but the bad news is that there's not enough time for the drug to take effect and then wear off enough for her to push when the time comes."

Andy's eyes widened. "I have to do this naturally?"

As the doctor nodded she shifted her gaze over to Sam and he could sense her fear. "You can do it Andy," he told her, calmly. "I know you can do it."

She shook her head, starting to freak out a little, "I can't do it, Sam," she said. "It's too much, I can't do it."

Sam knelt down so he was eye level with his wife. "I know you can Andy," Sam said, "You are so strong and I know you can do this."

Her eyes were still wide, but Andy nodded her head. "I can," she said, and then again with slightly more confidence, "I can do this."

"You're going to have our baby today," Sam told her, pushing her hair off her forehead.

Just as the doctor had wanted, the labor progressed rapidly and in just a couple of hours Andy was ready to deliver. Sometime during that short period Sam had gone out to the waiting room to tell Dov and Traci what was going on. Jerry was out there with them and had brought some clothes for Sam to change into.

"Thanks man," Sam said, taking the clothes from Jerry.

Jerry just nodded at his friend before pulling him into a hug. "You're going to be a dad today," Jerry said, slapping him on the back.

Sam chuckled and pulled away, "Who would have thought? I'm just…" he motioned back to the doors he had come through.

"Yeah, yeah," Jerry said, releasing his friend. "We'll be here."

"Tell Andy we love her!" Traci called after him.

It wasn't long after Sam returned to the room that Rebecca reported gleefully, "I can see the head! We're almost there, just a couple more good pushes!"

"You're doing so great Andy," Sam told her as Rebecca counted for each push, wiping her forehead. "Almost done."

"Alright Andy," Rebecca yelled, "One more!"

Andy tucked her chin down to her chest and pushed hard until she heard the doctor announce that the baby was out and then she collapsed back onto the pillows, physically and emotionally exhausted, "Is he okay?" She asked, "Why isn't he crying?" Almost as soon as she asked the question she heard the baby start to wail and almost cried in relief.

"You did so good sweetie," Sam said, beaming up at her, "He's so beautiful."

"Here you go Dad," Rebecca said, handing Sam a pair of scissors to cut the umbilical cord, "Just cut right between the two plastic clips."

Sam did as he was told and then Rebecca wrapped the baby in a blanket and placed him on Andy's chest. Andy couldn't stop the tears the flowed as she held her son for the first time. "He's so tiny," she said, marveling at his little fingers and toes.

"He's perfect," Sam said, kissing Andy's forehead before turning his attention to his son. "Hey little guy," he soothed, "Welcome to the world."

Rebecca and a couple of the other nurses fussed over the baby as Andy held him, cleaning him off and assessing for how alert he was. "We'll take him to get really cleaned off in just a minute," she told them.

Andy nodded, unable to take her eyes off of the still screaming tiny baby. "He's got quite the set of lungs on him."

"He must get that from you," Sam said, grinning at her.

"Look at those eyebrows," Andy teased, "Those are definitely from you."

"We're going to take him now, but we'll bring him back," Rebecca promised. She nodded her head over to a couple of nurses that just walked into the room. "In the meantime they're going to get you cleaned up and settled into your new room."

"Okay," Andy said, reluctantly handing the baby over to Rebecca.

Sam stayed with Andy and held her hand while the nurses took care of her. He leaned in close and grinned down at his exhausted wife. "We have a little boy."

She nodded, tearing up again, "We do. And he's okay."

"I'm so proud of you sweetie," Sam said. "You're so beautiful."

Andy let out a choked sob and reached up to thread her fingers through his hair. "I love you," she told him, weakly pulling him closer to her.

He complied and bent his head down so he could press a kiss against her lips. "I love you, too."

A couple hours later Andy was settled in her room, anxious to see her son again. The nurses brought the baby back to them and reported that aside from being a little on the small side at just under six pounds, Owen Samuel Swarek was a perfectly healthy baby boy.

"Of course he is," Sam replied, cradling Owen in his arms, "He's my son."

"There's a whole group of police officers out in the waiting room," one of the nurses said. "I assume they're here to see you."

"Can they come back here?" Andy asked, pushing herself up in the bed.

"We don't usually let that many visitors into the rooms," the nurse told them, "But we can probably make an exception. I'll go tell them."

"Do you want to hold him?" Sam asked, swaying back and forth slightly, not taking his eyes off of Owen.

Andy smiled watching the two of them together. "That's okay," she said, leaning back against the many pillows she had propped behind her. "I know as soon as Traci gets in here she'll want to hold him."

They heard their friends making their way down hallway and in a couple of moments it seemed like the entire Fifteenth division poured into Andy's room.

Just as Andy said she would, Traci held her arms out for the baby as soon as she entered the room. "Let me see him," she said as Sam gingerly handed him over. "Aww… He's so precious."

The rookies gathered around Traci, cooing and making faces at the tiny baby. Noelle was next in line to hold him, followed by, of all people, Oliver Shaw.

After he had passed Owen along to Jerry, Oliver kissed Andy on the cheek and clapped Sam on the shoulder. "Congratulations guys," he told them, "He's a cute little kid." He winked at Andy, "Obviously he takes after his mother."

Andy laughed, "Thanks Oliver."

"Just keep him away from my girls," Oliver warned with a grin, "I don't want him working those infamous Swarek dimples on them."

"Give him a couple years," Sam said, laughing, "I'm sure he'll be charming the ladies in no time."

The officers stayed for a little while, admiring Owen and chatting with Sam and Andy, until Traci began herding them all out of the room. "It's been a long day," she said when they grumbled at her, "They need their rest."

When they were left alone with Owen, Andy decided to try and feed him again. The first time things hadn't gone so well, which had frustrated Andy to the point of tears, but Owen got the hang of it the second time around.

"Look at him go," Sam said, sliding onto the bed next to Andy. "He's like a little nursing champ."

Andy just laughed weakly, leaning against Sam as he wrapped his arm around her. "Thank god," She said, "I don't think I could have handled one more thing going wrong today."

"I think things turned out pretty well," Sam said, tracing his finger over Owen's tiny hand. "We're so lucky he's okay." He paused for a moment and pressed a kiss against top of her head, "That you're okay."

Andy nodded, yawning. They sat in silence, both mesmerized by their son and thankful that he was healthy despite the events leading up to his birth.

Andy and Owen ended up staying in the hospital for two days before they were released to go home. Owen was slightly jaundiced, which they expected due to him being a premmie, but they were able to get it taken care of easily. Sam stayed with them the entire time, setting up a cot in the corner of Andy's room for the rare moments they were able to get some sleep.

When they got home Andy was surprised and thrilled to see that Owen's nursery had somehow been finished. "How did you…" she asked, confused, stepping into the room, "When?"

"I didn't do it," Sam said, shrugging. "Nash got the keys from me and she, Diaz, Peck and Epstein finished it. I just told them what to do and gave 'em my credit card." Andy cried for what seemed like the tenth time in the past forty-eight hours and Sam just grinned and wrapped his arm around his wife. "See Andy, I told you everything was going to be okay."

Sam stayed home with Andy and Owen for two weeks before returning to work. It took a while to get into a routine to meet the many demands of their tiniest family member but Sam and Andy could not have been happier to make the adjustments. Middle of the night feedings, burping, crying, diaper changes… they handled it all together.

Andy took as much maternity time as she could, but it soon came time for her to return to work. They had meticulously researched daycares in the area to find one for Owen and settled on one that was near the station.

The first day they had to leave him had been extremely difficult for both of them and Sam ended up having to pull a tearful Andy away. "He's going to be fine sweetie," Sam told her with more confidence than he felt, "And he's five minutes away if anything happens."

The officers welcomed Andy back to work during parade and she found herself settling in as they received their orders. Sam winked at her when Best assigned them to ride together again.

"Isn't Dov going to be upset he's not your partner anymore?" Andy asked as they walked out to the familiar car.

Sam shook his head. "He and Diaz are getting to ride together now," he told her. "I think they've already come up with their superhero partner names. I'm sure he'll be fine."

They reached the car and Sam held Andy's door open for her as he had done so many times before. "Thank you," she said, sliding into the passenger's seat.

"You're welcome." Sam shut the door and rounded the car, climbing in on the driver's side. He pulled his seatbelt across his body before turning the car on and looking over at her. "You ready to go?"

She nodded and buckled her own seatbelt. "I'm ready."

Sam grinned and reached for her hand. "It's good to have you back, McNally. It hasn't been the same without you."

* * *

_(Really this time)… The End! _

_Thanks for reading all of that. The epilogue ended up being much longer than I anticipated, but I hope you enjoyed it! _

_Again, thank you all so much for your support as this story has come together. It has been so much fun to write and all of your encouragement only enriched the process. Thank you, thank you, thank you! _


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